Torment
by Abazigal
Summary: Abducted, imprisoned and subjected to horrific ordeals, the gang must attempt to maintain the bonds between them, to prevent their minds from shattering completely. Rated M for violence, some language and strong sexual scenes.
1. Chapter One

The room was dark, the only light being the dull blue glow of a computer screen. A man sat hunched over a desk, the steady clicking of keys perforating the silence. An ornate, gold plated clock sitting to the right of the desk read twenty minutes past midnight. A late night at the office indeed.

The room was quite huge in scope, the high walls panelled with highly polished oak and lined with many full bookshelves, housing hundreds of leather bound books. Richly woven rugs lay at various intervals over the plush white carpet, and a vast, crystal chandelier hung, dormant, from the ceiling.

The monotonous sound of the keys ceased, and the man sat back, sliding a slightly gnarled hand over his head, taking some time to reach his hairline. The years had sent it considerably behind the starting line. He reached into his shirt pocket, producing a glinting silver lighter, and opened a small, elaborately carved wooden box to his left, drawing out a cigar. A brief red flash punctured the monitor's steady blue haze, and soon swirling grey tendrils crawled towards the ceiling.

The man grabbed a half full glass of whiskey that had been resting on a coaster beside the keyboard. The light chink of ice on glass momentarily pierced the otherwise soundless room. After taking a sip, he returned it to it's prior position and pulled a large, brown envelope across the desk towards him. While it was blank, the man seemed to know precisely what it held inside. He tore the sealed end, and removed a file from it's innards. Flicking it open, he surveyed it's contents carefully.

Sitting up straight, seemingly snapping to attention, he seized the photographs that it contained and held them close to his eyes. He reached over and turned on a desk lamp, for an easier view.

"Interesting", he muttered.

He spread out the photos in front of him, eight in all, each showing a different boy. "What a batch!", he exclaimed quietly. "They've really outdone themselves this time, these are exceptional.".

He picked up the first two and looked at them closely. "Twins perhaps? Though they seem to be different ages...strange". Both had similar, bizarrely complicated spiked hairstyles, with no fewer than three different colours in it, and both looked quite alike, and both had the same violet eye colour, though one was far taller, and with a much sharper, more angular face. "Both quite stunning, regardless, they're absolutely ideal"

He put them back down, and picked up the next two. "Now these are definitely twins", the two looked almost identical, the same height, the same light brown eye colour, and the same long, oddly white hair, the only difference being that one had a much harsher face in comparison with the other's quite innocent, childlike one. "Excellent, all around, and the fact that there are two of them will be quite a draw".

Moving onto the next photo, he smiled broadly; this was exactly the sort he had been hoping for. The boy was exceptionally pretty and feminine, with a slim, petite, body , and certainly foreign, for his skin was quite tanned, contrasting with his platinum blonde hair, and striking lavender eyes. "He's practically packaged already, he even has makeup and jewellery on. Beautiful, just beautiful. This is already the best group they've sent yet."

Reluctantly moving on from the foreign boy, he found himself looking at a tall and handsome, yet faintly scruffy, blonde, with dark, chocolate coloured eyes, "Perfect, a more masculine one for variety, seeing as they've all been damn girly so far. This seems almost too good to be true."

The next was quite oddly dressed and, like the tanned boy, he had dark makeup around his impressively green eyes, with his black hair in an elaborate ponytail of sorts "Hmm, pretty, yet not quite girlish, ideal for a comfortable middle ground, they've really got a lot of bases covered". The final photo awaited.

"This must be some kind of a joke, it's just too perfect to believe, twins, prettyboys, hunks, and now this?". While the others all appeared to be in their mid teens, the final boy was much younger, certainly not a teenager yet, a vast mane of silky black hair surrounded a small, decidedly effeminate face, with energetic grey eyes. "Incredible. On top of the others, they even have a nice, pretty, younger one for the full package".

He gathered up all of the photos in his hand, and brought them closer, pressing them to his face. "This is simply incredible, I couldn't have imagined a more beautiful group. I'll give the pair the go ahead first thing in the morning". He looked at the last photo again, his own dull blue eyes boring into the boy's grey ones. "Strange, he actually seems familiar somehow, have I seen him before?", his brow furrowed for a moment, before he dismissed the thought, "Ah, no bother, it doesn't really matter who he is, anyway, or was, I should say".

He glanced over all of the photos once more, soaking in the beauty, before replacing them in the file. "I think I'll need to be quite careful with how I handle this group; I doubt there'll ever be such a perfect collection found again, so I'll want to be keeping this one for as long as I can. Perhaps just toning down the process, and stretching it out longer instead, might be the way to go. More time spent, of course, but for this group, I suppose it's worth it, if it has them in prime condition by the end."

His tongue snaked out, sliding over his lips, his mind already imagining the mouth watering results, as he anticipated the things to come in the next few weeks.

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A ear splitting clattering shattered a previously peaceful silence, as an excessively obnoxious alarm clock set off it's bell. Yami shot straight up into a sitting position, looking around wildly for the source of the racket. Realizing the cause, he seized the clock roughly, turning it off, and struggling to resist the very attractive temptation to fling it against the wall.

Beside him in the bed, Yuugi stirred slightly, seemingly able to wake up at a comfortable pace from the abhorrent ringing, and sat up slowly. Yami found himself, once again, in a bad mood the second he woke up. Yuugi was clearly used to the alarm waking him up every morning, and had no trouble with it, but Yami was growing increasingly irritated at such a sudden wake up on a daily basis.

It had been two months since the Ceremonial Battle, and every weekday since Yami had been woken by the same alarm Yuugi needed to get up in time to go to school. While Yami most certainly delighted in sharing the same bed as Yuugi, this downside still made him wish there was space in the apartment for his own room.

"M-Morning", said Yuugi, stifling a yawn as he rose from the bed to get dressed.

"Good morning, Aibou"

"Sorry about that", Yuugi indicated towards the clock Yami was placing back on the bedside locker.

"You apologize every morning, I've told you there's no need, I understand the little....thing is necessary"

"Well, I still feel bad you're woken up so early, if you had your own room you wouldn't have to put up with it" Yuugi finished pulling on his uniform, and began slipping on his studded leather collar.

"As I said, it's fine, stop worrying about it, Aibou, if I didn't get woken up now I'd sleep in til past noon anyway."

Yuugi completed putting on his (mostly leather) accessories, and shifted nervously, "Ok...umm...are you...all set for today?". He turned to look uncertainly at Yami, whose expression grew apprehensive.

"It has to be done, so I suppose I have to be."

"You might end up feeling good about it all, though, if you just try"

"I know, I promise I'll do my best to get along. Though I can't speak for the others."

"They'll come round, too, I'm sure of it. Anyway I'd best head down to get some food before I go. What're you gonna do in the meantime?", Yuugi picked up his schoolbag and slipped in over his shoulders as he spoke.

"I guess I'll just help out down below, I've nothing better to be doing, really"

"Err, ok then, I'll see you downstairs before I head". Yuugi left the room, his light footsteps fading away as he moved down the stairs.

Yami sighed heavily and dropped back down, laying flat on the bed. He knew this had to be sorted out, they'd all been putting it off since the Ceremonial Battle. He had lost that duel, but had found he was unable to walk through the door, with the knowledge that he would never see his Aibou, or his friends here, again. While he had truly wished to return to his family and friends from his past life, he couldn't throw away the bond he had with so many people here, in Domino. He looked at it more as a delay, that he would see his family again only when he and his Aibou had lived their life out together.

Yuugi and the others had been lost for words when he had turned around, and decided to stay, and Yami would still smile whenever he thought of the look of sheer, unadulterated joy on Yuugi's face in that moment. However, there had, of course, been quite a few problems that had arisen from his decision.

The most obvious, was the lack of room Sugoroku had in his apartment for Yami to live in comfortably, before he had only been a spirit, in the Millennium Puzzle, but now he was very much here physically. Thus he had ended up staying in Yuugi's room. While he most certainly loved his Aibou in more ways than one, he had no idea if Yuugi felt the same way, making his nightly presence in the bed somewhat awkward.

The other obvious problem was that he, quite plainly, had nothing to do. He still had only a small amount of experience in the modern world, so he couldn't simply go out and get a job. He had found himself simply helping Sugoroku with the game shop during the day, while Yuugi was at school. Currently he was having thoughts of perhaps becoming a professional duellist, as it seemed the most fitting path for him.

However, the most serious problem was not directly related from his presence, rather, it concerned the fate of a certain white haired thief. Yuugi, damn forgiving, pure little Yuugi, along with Ryou, had decided that everyone deserves a second chance. With this in mind, after Yami had decided to stay, they had quite literally begged the gods themselves to give this second chance to Yami No Bakura. Yami, and the others, had found this simply absurd, but Yuugi and Ryou had insisted. Eventually, the gods had agreed, and Bakura had been returned to life, albeit in a slightly different form. With the death of Zorc and the destruction of the Millennium Items, a large amount of Bakura's old self had disappeared. Now, he was more of a remnant of the Thief King Bakura, at least in terms of character, with vague elements of Zorc remaining.

To the outside view, he looked the same as before, and perhaps acted no less unpleasantly, however, the gods had assured Yuugi and Ryou that any actual evil in him was gone, and that any disagreeable behaviour they saw from him was simply the signs of a rather abrasive personality. He had also been granted his own body, and Ryou had wasted no time in taking him in, seeming quite enthusiastic about the prospect of "rehabilitating him".

Unfortunately, while Yuugi, Ryou and, after a few weeks, Anzu and Shizuka were quite happy to accept the thief into their ranks, provided he behave himself, Yami was not. He, Jounouchi, Honda, Otogi, Malik, Kaiba and Mokuba remained extremely suspicious of him. And it was to this end that today's dreaded event had been organised.

After school, they were to all come here, to the apartment, in order to sit down and work out their differences. Yami had doubts it would accomplish much, how could one evening of talk solve so much bad blood? Nevertheless, he had agreed to it, and now, he and the others faced the prospect of sitting down for a chat with Bakura. The things he did for Yuugi!

Dragging himself out of his cavern of thought, he got out of the bed, and pulled on his own (like Yuugi, mostly leather) clothes. Marching down to the kitchen on the ground floor, behind the store, he was greeted with a now familiar, but currently less than welcome, sight. Sitting at the table with Yuugi, who was eating, was none other than Malik Ishtar. He immediately rose to greet Yami, who felt merely exasperated.

Malik had returned from Egypt shortly after the Ceremonial Battle, and was staying in Domino for (to Yami's dismay) an indefinite amount of time. While he no longer had any ill feeling towards Malik, who had returned to his original, gentle and thoughtful self, Malik's reason for being here was rather tiresome. He had apparently come back to "make up" for his previous behaviour, and was now interested in making sure the Pharaoh had an easy time.

This, in practice, meant that he was constantly following Yami around, wishing to help him with everything. This had proved rather annoying, to be pestered so much. Yami knew that Malik meant well, and hadn't the heart to tell him he was overcompensating hugely.

"Morning, Malik"

"Good morning, Pharaoh, do you want anything to eat?", Malik sounded quite eager, as always.

"No, I'm fine, and please, I've told you before, don't call me Pharaoh, just Yami will do"

"Ok, sorry, Yami, well, I'll be around all day if you need a hand with anything, just ask"

_No change there_, thought Yami. "I think I might accompany Yuugi to school, just to have a walk before I start in the game shop"

"I'll come with you then, I could help you with the game shop too!" said Malik excitedly. Yami mentally sighed, wondering how exactly Malik had turned himself into some kind of servant.

"Also, Yami, Honda called, he needs to head out of town right after school, he's not going to be back til tomorrow, so he's not going to be here this evening, ok?", said Yuugi.

"Oh. Very well then, are you nearly ready to go anyway?"

"Yeah, two minutes and we'll head."

Yami had a sudden thought while he waited, "Actually, Aibou, if Honda can't make it, shouldn't we delay it to a different day?". Yami tried to keep his tone as neutral as possible, to avoid looking hopeful of a cancellation.

"No, we can't, Yami, this is the only day I could convince Kaiba to take an evening off for, and he's already made his arrangements, so it has to be today"

Half an hour later, the three found themselves outside Domino High School. Yuugi was already cutting it close in terms of time, so there was not much room for extended goodbyes. Yami briefly touched his fingers to Yuugi's cheek, exchanging a warm smile with him, before he had to scurry off, looking back momentarily to wave to the two boys remaining at the gate.

The two began a slow walk back the gameshop. They moved in silence for a few minutes, before Yami decided it was the ideal time for him to try and sort out the current situation with the Egyptian.

"Malik, you know I've told you this whole thing isn't necessary. You don't need to wait on me hand and foot all the time like this"

"No...I do"

"It's fine, honestly, there's absolutely no need for any of it. I've long since forgiven you for any problems in the past, and you can go on with a normal life, like I'm doing my best to do"

Malik stopped abruptly. Yami ceased his own walk and turned to the blonde, surprised to see a deep melancholy appear in his violet eyes.

"I...I don't think you understand...this is something I have to do. You might have forgiven me...but I'm not so merciful, until I feel I've paid my debt to you, there's no normal life. I did such horrible things to you...and in return, you saved me from myself, you destroyed the other me. I owe my life to you. And I think this is the only way to make it all up, to repay you. Just helping you...it's helping me too"

Malik's eyes were beginning to look misty, and he bowed his head. Yami stepped forward, placing one hand on his shoulder, and lifting his face back up by the chin with the other hand.

"You have no debt to me, Malik, you're free of the past. Free of the other you, free of your father, free of the life of a tomb keeper, free of the Pharaoh. I understand your guilt, but I believe I can find a better way to absolve it."

Malik looked confused, his eyes narrowed, "I-I don't understand-"

"You believe you have to work to repay, but you don't need to, you'll learn to forgive yourself much faster, if you just be there for me as a friend, not as a servant. I'm not the Pharaoh anymore, I don't need slaves, I only need friends now, so just be that for me, Malik."

Malik seemed to be considering this idea, his eyes thoughtful. Several moments passed in silence while he mulled it over.

"Ok...ok, I'll give it a try, though I must admit, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do different"

"Just be yourself, really. Don't worry about how to act, just relax. All of that stuff, the Millennium Items, the tomb keepers, it's all over now, and we can just go on with normal lives"

Malik smiled, and nodded. Yami removed his hand from his shoulder, and the two continued on. It was several minutes before Malik spoke again.

"So, er, what're your thoughts on this evening?" Malik's question had a distinct aura of awkwardness to it, as though he were trying to keep himself as neutral as possible.

"To be quite honest, I'm not looking forward to it. I'll freely admit I don't trust Bakura at all, no matter what they said. He'll have a long way to go to prove to me he's safe to be around"

"Me too", Malik confessed, more comfortable now that Yami had expressed his own dissatisfaction, "It's not like he's acted much different, he's still as coarse and snide as before."

"Indeed, but I suppose we promised, so it has to be done. I just hope they don't make this a regular thing."

They had nearly reached the gameshop, now on the same street.

"Sometimes I think that forgiving nature Aibou has, can be incredibly naive. He just assumed Bakura can turn into a model citizen based on pure optimism. It can definitely get-" Yami stopped suddenly, looking behind him.

"What's wrong, Yami?" Malik turned to look as well, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"Something...strange. I'm rather talented at this sort of thing, and I got the distinct impression someone was watching us."

Malik's eyes darted around nervously, "Watching us, who?"

"I can't be sure, it's just a feeling, it's not usually wrong though" Yami scanned the street thoroughly, seeing nothing odd, but still feeling an uneasy sensation down his back.

"Well, maybe we should move on quickly, then" Malik's tone was anxious, his voice slightly shaky.

"...yeah. Ok, let's go" Yami tore his attention from the surrounding buildings, and the two walked on, at a much quickened pace. They soon reached the gameshop, and wasted no time in entering.

The morning Sun's rays illuminated the street, light bouncing and scattering from the black tarmac in all directions. One such ray stuck a pair of tiny lenses, protruding from an upper story window across from the card shop, the minute glass glinting for a moment, before the binoculars that had been tracking the two teens' progress down the street were withdrawn.

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**A/N:**

**Perhaps a little slow moving, but I'm still setting the scene, the ultra dark angst will come later ;).**

**I combed it as thoroughly as I could for any spelling or grammar errors, but please point out any I might have missed.**

**Hope it's not OOC in any places, I did my best to keep them IC**


	2. Chapter Two

Yami stood up from the stool he'd been seated on for several hours, feeling a number of cracks in his spine as he did so. Why Sugoroku hadn't bought a stool with a back to it, he would never understand. He glanced behind him at the clock hanging behind the counter, which read two thirty. Yami let out a sigh; the day had been exceedingly dull, despite Malik's presence.

Regardless of the evening's event looming in front of him, he longed for the afternoon to finish, if only so he could get out from behind the damn counter. He had no idea how Sugoroku or Yuugi could stand just sitting there all day, surrounded by Duel Monsters cards. He'd much rather be _using_ the cards, than staring at them.

Sugoroku had of course been informed of the "meeting", and had decided to vacate the premises once Yuugi returned from school, saying he'd be back that night, so they could go undisturbed. As three o clock neared, Sugoroku took his leave, and after closing the shop, the two teens once more walked to the school. Yet again, passing down the street, Yami had to shake off the unpleasant feeling that they were being watched.

Reaching the school, they met Yuugi, Jounouchi, Otogi, Anzu and Ryou, while briefly meeting Honda before he had to dash off. They had agreed on five as the time with Kaiba, so they decided to hang around elsewhere before returning to the shop. Jounouchi would need to pick up Shizuka, who was staying in the city with him and his father for a few months, before they went back, and of course, Ryou would need to go back to his house to pick up the main attraction.

As the deadline loomed, Yami found himself feeling slightly anxious, though strangely, it had nothing to do with Bakura, in fact, he couldn't quite explain what was making him nervous, it seemed to be more a general sense of apprehension. He assumed this was from nerves, but was quite perturbed nonetheless; he was far from a nervous person, usually always keeping his cool.

He felt a great deal of tension in the rest of the group, however, he was quite sure their apprehension was directly related to Bakura, unlike himself. Yuugi and Ryou were by far the most strained looking, they'd been working towards this for two months, after all.

None of them felt very much like doing anything, so they merely hung around the school, saying very little, and spending most of the time shifting around awkwardly.

Finally, it was time, and Ryou departed to fetch Bakura, while the others accompanied Jounouchi while he collected Shizuka. As they arrived back at the shop, they saw a limousine pull up, precisely at five, of course; Kaiba could always be expected to be punctual. Kaiba, along with Mokuba, emerged from the back as they approached. The limousine drove off after they had come out, Kaiba clearly expected to be here for quite some time.

"Yuugi, Yami", Kaiba nodded curtly at the two, his eyes then moving over the rest of the group, and narrowing upon falling on Jounouchi. The slightest flicker of a smirk appeared, while Mokuba moved forward to greet everyone. Yami, shifted over and unlocked the door, and held it open for everyone to enter. He thought they might as well all be seated before Ryou and Bakura arrived

Walking in himself, he was surprised to find it was boiling inside, despite it only being a mildly warm day.

"Damn, Yuugi, it's like an oven in here", exclaimed Jounouchi, his sentiments echoed by the rest of the group.

"Sorry, maybe the temperature got set high by accident", Yuugi moved into the back to check, and Yami followed.

Entering the kitchen, Yami strolled over to the windows, intending on letting in some air, but found they were either locked or sealed. "Aibou, did your Grandpa shut all the windows or something? I can't seem to open them"

"I don't think so, I mean I don't see why he would. Well, I'll ask him about it later, I'll just turn on the air conditioning for now."

Yami let the others into the room, and they seated themselves as best they could around the table. Kaiba stood (letting Mokuba sit instead) alongside Jounouchi and Otogi. Once the final two arrived, there would be eleven of them, making the kitchen quite cramped. Yami wondered if they ought to have found a better place for this. Yuugi ensured there was a seat free, obviously intended for Bakura.

"Err, does anyone want anything?" asked Yuugi uncertainly, receiving few replies from the group, all negative.

Yami leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms, and wondering just how this was really going to turn out. An all out brawl? Fairly unlikely, but he didn't think this would turn out to be a friendly night, in any case.

Suddenly there came a sharp rapping at the shop's front door, making them all jump slightly. Yuugi left the room, and Yami felt the already stifling air grow even tenser on top of it.

Yuugi returned, followed by Ryou. After they'd both entered, they turned, beckoning the final guest. At last, in walked, slowly, a very reluctant looking Bakura. Yami was pleased to see there was no sneer, or mocking look on Bakura's face, indeed the thief looked simply uncomfortable. Perhaps this might go better than he had expected.

Bakura seated himself, looking quite like a trapped animal, and remained silent. Yami glanced at Yuugi, who wore a very "I don't know what I'm doing" expression. Several moments passed before he finally spoke.

"Well...does anyone have anything to say first?"

Kaiba and Jounouchi seemed about to make biting remarks, but both appeared to think better of it. Silence reigned for another few seconds, before Ryou broke it.

"I already know what you're all thinking, those of you who made up their minds two months ago, without giving any chance for Bakura to prove himself. You're thinking this is a waste of time, that he must be the same person you fought before. But I can tell you he's not, and don't forget, he lived inside of me for a long time, I mightn't have been aware of him for most of it, but I still know what he was like. And this person, sitting in front of you, is not him. That's a fact, I know it, and it's about time you gave him an opportunity to prove it."

"And there's no possibility you could have been duped? We've seen he's deceptive before, why couldn't he be now?", Kaiba seemed to be outright scoffing at Ryou's request.

"Kaiba, I know one completely airtight reason he can't be the same person", Yuugi had spoken again, "The gods themselves brought him back, they explained what they'd done pretty thoroughly. The Bakura we knew before was mostly Zorc, and he's dead now, so Bakura's just a normal person now, they told us already he's not evil. Unless you think the gods are wrong?"

Kaiba said nothing; he seemed to have no retort.

"Yuugi is right, the gods wouldn't have brought him back if there was any evil left in him. The problem isn't Bakura, it's all of you, you just flat out refused to trust him without giving him any chance", added Ryou.

"Well, it's not like he's acted innocent towards us, either." Jounouchi now spoke up, "He's been just as rude and hostile as ever, at least to us. Maybe he acts like an angel in your house, but we've only seen him acting like an asshole as usual."

"Indeed, you're quite right" Bakura now spoke himself, and his detractors looked quite taken aback. "Just as you treated me in a hostile manner, I treated you in the same way, in return. I won't claim to be innocent, I am willing to admit I have poorly behaved throughout this whole situation. But I'd like you to admit that you have done the same"

Once again, silence filled the room.

"Well...I suppose that is true...we did jump to conclusions maybe" said Malik, "But like you said yourself, you've not made it easy, you look the same, you act the same, it's not exactly filling us with confidence that you're trustworthy."

"He's acted that way because it was all he knew, and he was just being defensive against all of you", Ryou retorted. "If you'd just be more open to the possibility he might not be an enemy, you may find he's changed more than you think."

Yami now decided to speak, while he did not trust Bakura, he knew it was pointless to try and keep this issue going, when there was a simple solution.

"I believe this is simply a matter of trust. I don't...We don't trust Bakura, and he doesn't trust us in return. We believe he is dangerous, he believes we will never accept him. While I'm clearly on one side, I believe both parties must meet in the middle here, and right now I'm open to any attempt to solve this conflict. We can learn to trust you, Bakura, and then we might find you indeed are a changed man, and in turn you might learn that there's no need for hostilities towards us. Would anyone be opposed to attempting this solution?"

No one answered, and Yami took it to mean no. "I think that's settled then"

"Just how do you suggest we 'learn' to trust one another, Yami?" Kaiba still sounded highly skeptical.

"Well, I think that's what we're here to work out, wouldn't you concur?"

Kaiba didn't reply, but his expression betrayed the knowledge that he privately agreed.

"We'll find some method, it can't be that hard" Yuugi remained as optimistic as ever. "It's only half five now, we've got hours to-" he stopped abruptly. All of them immediately knew why.

A rumbling noise could be heard outside the room, it seemed to be coming from right outside the building, in the alley behind it.

"What's that? A car?" Jounouchi's tone was confused.

"Too loud, sounds more like a truck or a van. It's a diesel engine." replied Kaiba.

"Well what's it doing behind the shop?" asked Yuugi.

"Turning around maybe?" suggested Ryou.

Just then the noise ceased; the vehicle's engine had been stopped.

"Guess not"

Yami moved to the window, attempting to see where the vehicle was, but hadn't the right angle of view.

"I think we'd best go and find out ourselves" he said.

"Just a couple of us" added Kaiba, and the two began to move towards the door. However, before they reached it, the doorknob turned.

"What the-" Yami was cut off, as the door opened slightly, and something solid was rolled in, before the door snapped back shut.

All eyes were drawn to the small object now lying in the middle of the floor. It seemed to be a can of some sort, and from one end there was a curious blur being emitted, like a heat wave. After a moment, all of them realised at the same time what it was.

"Shit!"

Yami flew forwards, seizing the canister, and attempting to wrench open the door to get it out of the room, but it wouldn't budge, someone seemed to be holding it shut from the other side.

"Help me!"

Kaiba, Jounouchi and Otogi leaped over and also tried to pull open the door, but it still wouldn't move. The gas was spraying from the can in liberal amounts, and already Yami was beginning to feel lightheaded.

"The window!" He shot across the room, and struggled to open the window, to no avail.

"Damn it!"

"Break the glass, Yami!" Kaiba shouted.

He raised his arm, intending on flinging the can through the window, but his fingers went slack, and he dropped it. He fell to his knees, his head spinning wildly.

"Shit!" the three all dived for the can, but it's effects had already taken their toll, none could raise themselves off their knees, and they were unable to grab it. The others had stood up during the chaos, but were now also collapsing. Mokuba fell face down on the floor, not moving.

"Mo...Mokuba!" Kaiba seemed to forget about the canister, and crawled over to his brother, trying to shake him awake, while Shizuka, Ryou and Anzu all fell to the floor, like Mokuba, unmoving. Yuugi edged closer, trying to grab the can, but went limp before he could seize it.

"Aibou!", Yami could barely see now, his vision had blurred, and he couldn't find the can. From out of nowhere Bakura leapt forward, managing to grab the can and get back onto his knees, he raised it behind his head, and flung it at the window. Yami's heart soared, they were saved!

He heard a loud crack above his head, but it was followed by the can clattering back onto the tiled floor; it had only fractured the glass.

"Sh...shi..." Bakura crumpled, unable to complete his curse. Otogi and Jounouchi had both fallen unconscious, and Yami saw the hazy shape of Kaiba collapse alongside Mokuba, as he tried to move himself forward. He saw the outline of the can in front of him, and tried to grab it, just as a tanned hand attempted to do the same.

"M-Ma...Malik! Get it!" He saw the Egyptian give one final burst of energy, throwing himself forward and grasping the can, and tried to move closer to have a clear shot at the window, but faltered, clearly unable to keep himself awake much longer. Yami pulled himself over, just as Malik collapsed on top of him. Yami tried to catch the can as it fell from Malik's hand, but missed it, and could only watch in despair as it rolled out of his reach, still spewing it's clear gas.

His mind lost any clarity; his head hit the floor, the limp form of Malik still draped over him, as he slipped away, towards unconsciousness.

He heard the door open, and a muffled voice say "Easiest catch in years", before his mind went blank, and he knew no more.

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**A/N:**

**The plot thickens, indeed :p**

**Next chapter will have some unpleasantries, just so you're warned, nothing too graphic or serious now, just some unsettling things. The really nasty stuff will come later on.**

**Also, since it bothers some readers, I'd best mention the sexual scenes in this will be male-male. So you might want to bail out now if it's not your thing.**

**P.S. Once again, any spelling/grammar errors I might have missed, please point them out and I'll correct them.**


	3. Chapter Three

Endless streams of indiscernible shapes flew past at lightning speeds. Swirls of colour flowed around like a vast river. Distorted sounds echoed faintly somewhere in the distance. The noise became clearer, a low rumble, a thunderous bang, then a long scraping, before being drowned out by an eerie silence. The figures and hues seemed to solidify, forming a grey mass, marked in the centre by a strange, multicoloured shape. Gold, violet and black intertwined, in the vague shape of a half star. Curved lines became straight, blurs became clear, and the view of a grim, and bare concrete room came into focus.

Yami blinked over and over, trying to wash the last of the distortion away, and realized the shape in front of him was his Aibou's distinct hair.

"Aibou", he tried to lean forward to shake him awake, but found he could move no further.

"What? What the hell is happening?", he stared in horror at his surroundings.

His hands and feet were bound with a thin, tight wire, and the loop around his wrists was in turn linked with a chain attached to the wall he lay against. Yuugi was similarly bound on his right, and to his, still unconscious, was Malik. Past Malik, all along the wall, was Jounouchi, Mokuba, Otogi, Ryou and Bakura.

Anzu, Shizuka and Kaiba were nowhere to be found.

The room was a long, grey rectangle, with a thick steel door on the wall opposite them. A single window lay at one end, fitted with bars, with red evening rays streaming through it.

Yami tested the bonds, seeing if he could ease out of them, but upon finding they were so tightly wound around his wrists that he couldn't even move them a millimetre apart, he began to panic. He did not like to be constricted. Several times in the past few months he'd awoken in the middle of the night, tangled in the sheets, and frantically torn his way out of them, waking Yuugi up and even falling out of the bed on one such occasion. And so, finding himself bound with wire, in a foreign, room, after being gassed, did little to curb his fear of constriction.

He desperately tried to wrench his hands apart, ignoring the intense pain, and the disgusting feeling of the wire slowly splitting open his skin. His only concern was getting his hands free. He continued to pull, until he felt something wet drop onto his face. The droplet rolled down his forehead, onto his eyes, colouring half his vision red. Blinking the blood from his eye, and looking up at his bleeding wrists, he ceased his struggle, realising in a flash he was likely to slit open his veins and kill himself if he persisted. The cuts were not deep, only enough to open a slight flow of blood.

Trying to avoid putting any pressure on the wounds, he tested the binding around his feet, and, finding they were just as tight, he gave up attempting to pull himself out of his bonds. He searched the room for something that could help him, but apart from his new occupants, it was completely empty.

"Ah...wha...what the fuck is this?" Jounouchi had awoken, and was clearly as deeply unnerved as Yami.

"Jounouchi! Are you alright?"

"Yami? Yami! What's going on? How'd we get here?"

"Whoever tossed in that can must have brought us here, I heard someone come in just before I passed out."

"Shit, these wires are too tight, I can't get them off!" Jounouchi yanked his arms forward, pulling at the chain, but stopped and winced as the wire loop's pressure was increased.

"Yami....Jounouchi" Otogi had woken now, and the others were all beginning to stir.

"Aibou...Aibou! Can you hear me?" Each person was the same distance from each other, their chains all set in a regular interval along the wall, and close enough to touch the people next with their legs. Yami nudged Yuugi with his feet, trying to rouse him. He seemed to be regaining consciousness.

"Nii...Nii-Sama? Nii-Sama! NII-SAMA!" Mokuba's head darted about frantically, his eyes wild with fear.

"Mokuba, quiet, we don't want anyone to know we're awake, we have a better chance of escaping then" Jounouchi attempted to calm the boy down, prodding him with his feet.

"W-where's Nii-Sama? Everyone else is here, b-but he's not!"

"Shit, you're right, Kaiba's not here"

"What's going on here?"

"Who's missing?"

"Shizuka, where's Shizuka!?"

"And Nii-Sama!"

"How did we get here?"

"What's happening?"

"Everyone, quiet! I hear something outside" Malik sat straight up, his head raised, and his ears alert. Everyone quickly fell silent, also straining to listen.

Footsteps could be heard somewhere beyond the steel door, growing louder. A great scraping noise echoed through the room, and the door opened inwards.

A man stepped through into the room. He looked middle aged, at least in his forties, with only a small amount of black hair, tinged with grey. He was a fairly heavyset build, with the jacket of the neat suit he wore straining to contain a sizable belly. He was flanked by two other men, both large and beefy, with shaved heads, dressed in simple jeans and t-shirts.

Immediately everyone began shouting at the three.

"Who the fuck are you!?"

"What's going on!?"

"What the fuck did you do with Shizuka!?"

"Where's my brother!?"

"Who the hell do you think you are, locking us up!?"

"Let us out of here, right now!"

One of the large men flicked out a long metal baton, striking it sharply against the door. The deafening crash silenced the room's occupants.

Yami felt himself seething with rage, drawing deep breaths while glaring at their apparent captors. The sight of the baton was enough to keep him from releasing his anger, however, at least for now.

"Now now, that's not much of a greeting, is it? We'll definitely have to work on that." The man had a nasal, grating voice that was nevertheless full of clear authority.

He stepped forward, and the two others shut the door behind them, leaning back on the wall opposite the captives.

"Why are we here?" Yami choked out, trying not to scream the question.

"I'm afraid I'll be asking the questions here, not you, and from now on, please only speak when spoken to."

Yami was taken aback by this answer, and his temper flared even further, he knew he couldn't keep calm much longer

"Now, boys, first off I ought to introduce myself, my name is Mr. Higuchi. However, I would prefer for you to address me as sir, for the moment. Now, I think a quick explanation before I get to the important stuff. You're here because we've identified you as valuable assets, and what's more, you're going to be staying here. Well, not here exactly, you see your new positions will receive a free education. Over the next week, you'll be learning the basics of being an asset of ours, then, we shall have our, ahem, initiation event. After that you'll be moving to our main facility, where you'll have several months of education, and then, you'll all be ready to settle down into your new lives. Questions? No? Good"

"Now, if that's cleared up, I have some questions for all of-"

"I have a fucking question! Just who the hell do you think you are? Who the fuck gave you the right to just abduct us and talk to us like we're damn objects!?" Yami rarely swore, but this had driven him to the edge. He ceased his outburst, however, as he realised he'd gone too far for his captors. The man clutching the baton moved forward swiftly, raising it as he went.

Yami braced himself as it swung towards him, but could not quite prepare himself for the intense blast of pain caused by the baton striking the side of his face. He fell backwards, slumping against the wall.

"YAMI!" yelled several voices. Malik pulled in his legs and thrust out, kicking the man hard in the knee, causing him to stumble back with a yelp of surprise mixed with pain.

"You little fuck-" He raised the baton again, clearly aiming for Malik's head, but Higuchi had stepped forward, and seized the man's arm.

"Now now, they're just a bit playful, leave him be for now" He looked down at Yami. "And please don't go for the face next time, I don't want such a masterpiece damaged. I've told you before to only hit the limbs or the back if they get out of line"

The large man stepped back, still seething with anger and glaring at Malik, who returned the glare with a solid gaze of pure hatred.

"Now it's understandable you'll all have some...teething problems. However, we have very patience for them, so I suggest you to get over them as fast as possible. Rather than wasting time and receiving quite a lot of excess pain, simply resign yourselves to your new roles, and don't throw tantrums."

He looked over the group, with a knowing smirk. "Now, I know you'll probably ignore that advice, judging by your expressions, but I assure you, you'll learn quickly. As I said already, do not speak out of turn, and certainly don't try to attack any of us. Do as you're told, and you'll have a perfectly painless time, well, for the most part"

Still feeling the sting over the side of his face, Yami raised himself back up, onto his knees, deciding he'd better control his temper as much as he could, while getting some information at the same time. He lifted up his hands as high as he could, attempting to indicate he wanted to speak.

"Do you have something to say? I hope it's an apology"

"Not this time."

The man's smirk disappeared, his beady eyes narrowing.

"You might want tell us what "roles" we're supposed to be forcing ourselves into" Yami had resisted the urge to shout, but had failed to keep a note of contempt out of his voice.

The tone was not wasted on Higuchi, who looked supremely annoyed. "Believe me, you'll figure it out for yourself shortly. ", his lip curled as he spoke.

He turned to the two men, "Well, I think we might as well move along and stop wasting time", he jerked his head towards the group, and the pair moved across the room, bearing down on their captives.

"Which one first?" asked the one still holding his baton.

Higuchi raised his hand in Yami's direction, but stopped half way up and let it drop back down. An unpleasant leer formed on his face, as he seemed to be thinking something over.

"I think...we might try something a little different this time."

"So...what do we do different?"

"Hmm...yes, much better...take two of them instead." The men looked most surprised at this order.

"Uh, ok...which ones then?"

"I think our most spirited friends would be an ideal starter", he indicated towards Yami and Malik.

"Righto", the two leaned down over Yami and Malik, the second withdrawing a baton of his own. The sight of the two long steel rods plainly said to the group "behave!".

Yami recoiled, expecting a thrashing from the baton, but instead the man began to untie him. Beside him, the other was doing the same to Malik's bindings. He considered attempting to make a struggle for it, once he was free, but thought better of it; the man was much larger than him and clearly accustomed to dealing swiftly with unruly prisoners.

He was seized by the wrists and pulled up to a standing position, while Malik was yanked roughly to his feet; the man handling him was the one he had kicked. The cuts on his wrists had ceased to bleed, but still stung sharply. None of their captors seemed concerned over the wounds.

They were both led to the middle of the room, and Yami began to feel sharp stabs of panic, the thought of being made an example of with the batons still in his mind.

"Do you want both done now?" one of the men asked

"No, neither, that'll be all this time, men, I've a more amusing way" The two stepped back, still brandishing their cudgels, clearly warning the two boys not to try anything.

Yami saw that Malik was shaking, he was visibly terrified. Yami quickly realised he himself was shaking also, the sense of foreboding growing.

A horrid smile played across Higuchi's face, "Don't fret now, boys, there's nothing to worry about. This is standard procedure, indeed, it's even better, it's a special circumstance for all of you, you're getting a much more comfortable way. You see, this is of course the first time I've met you all in person, I've only seen photos before, in fact I don't even know your names. Except for..." His eyes briefly flickered to the rest of the group, "...never mind, anyway, my point being that I've really seen very little of you. So now, I'd like to see more"

He moved over, standing close to the two boys, looking at Yami. He indicated with his hand towards Malik.

"Undress him"

Yami's heart skipped a beat, "What?"

"Undress him. Take off his clothes"

Malik looked from Higuchi to Yami frantically, his expression horrified. Yami glanced at the rest of the group, they were all frozen, their eyes wide with shock.

Yami had of course been contemplating the reason they might have been abducted, and had found the most likely they had been brought here for ransom money. But now, he realised they were here for a different purpose, and one that frightened him far more. Thoughts of his Aibou being abused pulsed through his mind rapidly, chilling his blood.

"It wasn't a request. It was an order. And if you don't obey orders, there will be punishment. Normally it would be the offender, but right now, whoever disobeys will get their partner a punishment instead." On cue, one of the thugs stepped up behind Malik, and seized him violently by the hair, jerking his head back, then laying the baton over his throat. Malik attempted to bite the man's hand, but couldn't reach.

"So should my man start his work, or will you start yours?"

"No!" Yami leaped forward, grabbing Malik by both shoulders, "Don't harm him. If you need someone to harm, hit me, and only me. I'll take the punishment"

"No...you won't"

These words were a clear indicator to the thug, who pulled Malik back, wrenching him away from Yami, who felt a pair of strong hands grab him from behind, holding him in place. He struggled to break from the tight grasp, and tried to kick his captor's legs out from underneath him, but to no avail. The other man held Malik's hair with one hand, raised the baton in the other and swung down, striking the back of Malik's legs hard. He let out a sharp cry of pain, falling to his knees, even as the man raised the baton a second time, a blow to Malik's side following. The others were all shouting, and as the rod was raised a third time, Yami screamed "STOP!"

"I'll do it! Just stop!"

The man released Malik, who fell facedown, clutching his side. The shouting subsided, the group now silently watching in horror.

"Much better. Now, keep in mind, once you're done, he'll be doing the same to you. And I'll pair the others off too, so don't feel singled out"

Malik raised himself back up to his feet, his eyes trying to indicate to Yami that it was alright, though both knew it was anything but. Yami felt himself be released, and he stepped forward, a sick feeling forming in his stomach.

"Now, undress him."

His hands were shaking madly as he slowly extended them toward the Egyptian. Malik moved closer, closing his eyes, with a mournful expression on his face.

Yami's hands closed around the fabric of the sleeveless pink hoody Malik wore, and, repulsed by what he was doing, began to lift it up. Malik, seeming resigned to this humiliating fate, raised his arms upwards. The hoody slipped off, leaving Malik's chest and scarred back completely bare. Higuchi seemed fascinated by the carved designs on the boy's tanned back, his eye travelling up and down them.

Yami didn't pause, he crouched down, and untied both of Malik's shoes, and helped him step out of them, also pulling off his socks. Knowing he could delay no longer, wishing Malik wore more clothes, he began to unbuckle the belt of Malik's tightly fitting brown trousers.

He opened the fly, and pulled them down, slowly, desperately wishing he could save Malik's dignity, but knowing he was stripping him of it completely. Malik was now left in just his underwear. Yami stopped, looking up at Malik's face. His eyes had opened, and he gave Yami a pitiable look that said "just do it". Hating himself for doing this to his friend, forced or not, Yami gripped the sides of Malik's briefs, and pulled them down.

His own eyes becoming glazed over with the beginnings of tears, he stood back up, trying not to look, as Malik stood stark naked in the middle of the room, his clothes, and his dignity, discarded on the floor around him.

To Yami's revulsion, Higuchi was eagerly eyeing Malik's nude form, his vision tracing the contours of the boy's thin and feminine body. Without waiting for any order, Malik stepped forward, his eyes brimming with tears, grabbing Yami's jacket and pulling it off.

"Now this is exactly what I want to see. You're learning fast"

He deserved no dignity of his own, after subjecting Malik to such an ordeal, and Yami wished only for Malik to be done quickly, feeling his shirt slip off him. As his clothes were stripped away, Yami felt only horror at his own actions, and fear, knowing the others faced the same debasing fate.

His leather pants slid down his slender legs, and like he had, Malik paused, looking up at him as though for approval. Yami nodded slightly, and felt Malik's fingers against his bare skin as his boxers were slipped off. He felt Higuchi's eyes travelling over his body, feeling truly worthless, a mere object used for display at one's will, not even human.

"You both are truly incredible. You should be proud to own such perfect bodies."

Higuchi seemed to be about to move towards them both, his fingers twitching, but stopped, "Actually, I'll leave it until everyone's finished" He nodded to the two men, and they both dragged the now naked boys back to the wall, tying them up once more. As the one working on Yami stood back up, he ran his fingers lightly down Yami's chest, making him shiver at the unpleasant contact. The man smirked, stepping away, and awaiting his orders.

Higuchi's eyes panned over the group, who all had simply watched in utter revulsion, but now cowered down, fearing being chosen. Several moments passed in silence, while Higuchi thought.

"Next, the twins at the end can go"

Ryou looked truly terrified, recoiling against the wall, and for the first time he'd ever seen, Yami saw true fear in Bakura's eyes. The thief looked just as petrified as Ryou. The two were untied and dragged to the centre of the room, while Higuchi smiled broadly.

"Brothers, of course?"

Bakura shook his head quickly, his angular eyes wide with dread.

"No? Now that's most odd, you're almost exactly alike. Well, never mind, on with the show. You can go first"

Trembling, Bakura began to strip Ryou of his clothing. Yami could only watch in a morbid fascination, a sort of awe that someone could be so cruel as to subject people to this degradation. Soon, Ryou's thin and pale body was uncovered, and Higuchi's thirsty gaze drank it's fill.

"Wonderful, now the other."

Bakura's body was just as pale, though slightly more muscular. The two looked quite like ghosts as they stood naked, and soon they were pulled back to their shackles, once Higuchi had eyed them enough.

He turned, indicating Otogi first, and after a moment's thought, pointed his hand towards Yuugi. Yami's heart clenched, this would not be the first time he saw his beloved Aibou naked (for he'd accidently walked in on his Aibou as he left the shower a mouth before), but the thought of his love, the purest, kindest and most gentle person he'd ever met, forced into this situation, enraged him beyond anything that had already happened this evening.

Yuugi was told to go first, his small hands quickly pulling off Otogi's garments, revealing a slightly tanned, and well toned body. There was an expression of deep, powerful shame on Otogi's face as he slid off Yuugi's clothes. Piece by piece, his slim and petite form was revealed. Both vividly green and richly purple eyes burned with tears as the last of Yuugi's clothing was removed. Yami's own eyes travelled over Yuugi's tiny body, before a deep feeling of disgust welled up inside, directed at himself for mocking his Aibou by eyeing him in such a situation.

As Yuugi was pulled past Yami, their eyes met, Yami attempted to force his into an expression of reassurance, but knew it had most likely come off as simply miserable.

And now, only two were left.

Jounouchi and Mokuba were dragged over, but Jounouchi simply shook his head, wearing an expression of stunned disbelief.

"No...no way...you can't do this...he's only a kid!"

"He will, and you will, his age has nothing to do with it"

"Damn it, have you no shame yourself, you bastard!?"

One of the thugs immediately lifted up his baton, swinging it down towards Mokuba, but Jounouchi leapt forward, throwing his arms around the boy, and taking the blow on his back. His face contorted in pain, even as both men seized him by the shoulders, jerking him off Mokuba. He stumbled back and fell back into a sitting position.

"I think you both should have a punishment for that one"

But as the men raised their batons above Jounouchi, Mokuba, seemingly thinking fast, threw himself forward, grabbing Jounouchi's pants and pulling them down his legs. The two men stopped, surprised, and Higuchi raised his hand, indicating to them to stand down.

Mokuba pulled off Jounouchi's t-shirt, before returning to remove his shoes and socks, then finishing dragging his trousers off. Jounouchi simply looked on in shock. Mokuba seemed to trying to move as fast as he could, probably to avoid thinking about what he was doing. He barely hesitated before jerking off Jounouchi's boxers. He stepped back, looking at the floor, while Higuchi moved forward, his eyes panning over Jounouchi's muscular body.

"Good show. And now, your turn, boy. However, for this particular one, please go quite slowly" he smiled, clearly realising the effect this would have on Jounouchi. Perhaps it was his idea of punishing Jounouchi, subjecting him to as much shame as possible. He seemed either oblivious to or simply uncaring about the glares of utter loathing directed at him from the rest of the group against the wall.

Shaking wildly, a look of self loathing mixed with disgust on his face, Jounouchi stepped forward, crouching down in front of Mokuba, placing his hands on the boy's shoulders. He pulled his face near to Mokuba's, and whispered, as quietly as he could.

"It's alright, it's ok, just relax. I know you want your Nii-Sama here to help you, but I promise I'll keep you safe until you're back with him, you have my word"

Mokuba raised his head, tears were running liberally down his face, but he managed to give Jounouchi the slightest of smiles for a brief moment. Jounouchi's own eyes filled with tears, even as he lowered his hands and began to remove Mokuba's jacket.

Yami could only stare, feeling such strong repulsion at this forced act on a child, that he momentarily felt lightheaded. The others all wore similarly disgusted expressions. He felt a vast pity for Jounouchi, knowing the disgrace this act was bringing upon him, stripping a young boy of his innocence. This was truly slow torture of the cruellest kind, attacking not the body, but the mind.

Mokuba's torso was bare by now, with Jounouchi removing his shoes. Droplets of sorrowful water splashed to the floor, from both grey and brown eyes, as Jounouchi slid Mokuba's pants off. The last hope of the captive group that things would turn out okay seemed to die as the boy's underwear was slipped off, exposing a tiny, prepubescent body. Jounouchi placed one hand back on Mokuba's shoulder, before bowing his head, his body shaking with heavy sobs.

"Beautiful, indeed" A broad smile was splashed across Higuchi's gnarled features, no shame, no remorse, only pleasure at seeing his captives humiliated, their own bodies no longer private.

Once Jounouchi and Mokuba had been tied up once more, Higuchi moved forward until he was right in front of the group, began to slowly walk up and down the room, studying each of them carefully.

"I said earlier I had a few questions, however with all the commotion they slipped my mind. But now, let's return to that line of thought. My first question is the most important" He stopped pacing, his face looking quite serious.

"Would I be correct in assuming that you are all virgins?"

Yami had of course known by now that Higuchi's interests in them were sexual, simply from how he had watched them as they were stripped, but this stark question seemed to truly confirm it. The sick feeling returned, even stronger now, no doubt from the harrowing thought of his Aibou and his friends being violated by this bastard of a man.

"Now, I don't mean a virgin in the useless "traditional way", I mean in the real way. No one here has been penetrated before, I trust? And if you have, you had better not lie and say you are a virgin, because we can and will check for that eventually. And if I find a single person has lied about this, the entire group will be getting a truly severe punishment. Am I understood? Good. Now, I ask, is anyone here not a virgin?"

No one answered, their heads bowed.

"That's good news, then. Now, I must also ask, has anyone a medical condition that may be hazardous to their or our health?"

Still silence from the group.

"More good news. You all truly are as perfect as you look." With this, he seemed to have concluded his interrogation.

He moved forward, crouching in from of Yami, who felt a deep shiver run down his spine, perhaps a sort of foreboding. He knew this was coming, and he felt even more pathetic that he could do nothing to stop it. Higuchi reached out both his hands, touching Yami's face. His fingers traced over every contour, every shape, every part of Yami's features. The touch moved down, all over his neck, his shoulders, his arms, moving slowly onto his chest.

The rough, lustful feel moving over Yami's body could not have been more torturous. He was being used in such a degrading way, nothing but a toy for Higuchi to play with, and never in his life had he felt such humiliation.

The fingers continued their shameless exploration, infecting every part of Yami's torso with the sense of impurity, as though he had become dirty, just from the touch. He shut his eyes as the hands moved over his hips, not wishing to see his most intimate areas infringed upon. He felt his behind being squeezed, and his privates fondled, and while he tried to will himself to ignore it, to think of anything but reality, he could not block out the filthy feeling descending upon him.

At last, running his hands down Yami's legs, Higuchi stood back up.

"Incredible. Truly remarkable"

As Yami had expected, he did the same to the other captives. He moved in the seemingly random order of Otogi, Ryou, Jounouchi, Bakura, Malik, and then Yuugi. While he had felt intense rage over seeing the others degraded, nothing prepared Yami for the fury he experienced while seeing his Aibou touched against his will. His body had clenched up, his muscles so tense he felt he could shatter at any moment. The worst part was that he knew there was still one left, which could possibly enrage him even further.

Indeed, he felt the same aura of anger resonating from each of the others, as Higuchi approached Mokuba. Grinding teeth and clenched fists could be heard and seen quite clearly, yet Higuchi seemed to ignore them, his eager hands feeling not even the slightest amount of shame, not suffering a moment's hesitation, before sliding over Mokuba's skin, fondling the child in the most demeaning way possible.

To add insult to injury, he had the utter gall to lean forward and leave a kiss on Mokuba's forehead before standing back up. The boy had simply cried silently throughout the ordeal, not reacting to the touch in the slightest.

"I think that's enough for today, you'll begin learning our rules in more detail tomorrow. Have a pleasant sleep" Higuchi gave one last disgusting smirk to the group, before turning and leaving with the two men, shutting the door behind them with an echoing crash.

The Sun had gone down by now, and the room was dimly lit by a couple of small light bulbs hanging from the ceiling.

There were no words spoken, there was nothing to be said, really. Each boy simply curled up as best as they could, trying to stay as warm as possible. Yami wished only to hold his Aibou in his arms, nay, not just his Aibou, any of them, Mokuba, Malik, Jounouchi, Otogi, Ryou, and even his former enemy Bakura. Just to hold them tightly, telling them it would be alright. Perhaps if they believed it, he might too.

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**A/N:**

**Whew, much longer chapter. I'm intending to make them a lot more in depth starting with the next, most of the real substance will be from here on out anyway, now that they're actually abducted.**

**About the same level of slight unpleasantries coming next chapter, too, nothing too graphic, again.**


	4. Chapter Four

"Well that went better than usual. You two really did out do yourselves"

Higuchi sat down at his desk, still rubbing his fingers together, remembering the feel of the boys' skin.

"However, now we need to discuss your little mix up. You might want to tell me from the beginning how you managed to make such a mistake."

One of the two men stepped forward. "We really didn't know who it was. We were watching the group for the last few weeks, and the kid seemed to show up a good bit. So we just counted him as part of the group as a whole. They always seemed to meet together in that shop, and after we heard over the bugs that they were all meeting today, we thought we could save a lot of time by getting them all at once, instead of collecting each person on their own like usual. We were going to just take the boys and leave anyone else hit by it. But once they'd got hit by our trap, there was one more boy than we thought there would be. And at the same time, we kinda assumed you'd not want a free one wasted, so we dragged him into the van too."

"You really must be quite clueless about the business world. Perhaps I have you spending too much time bird watching. So you had an extra boy, and brought him along, but not at any point did you recognize him?"

"No, we really didn't. We don't exactly keep track of the news."

"Well, thanks to that blunder, I've now got Seto Kaiba chained up in one of my cells. And I knew I'd seen the kid before, he's Kaiba's little brother Mokuba. This means I can't simply let Kaiba go just like that, before he knows anything about us, because he'll want to find us again to get his brother back. So you've landed us in a right shit pit, haven't you?"

He rose, walking across the room to the window.

"The whole idea is to only take nobodies from the street; people will notice Kaiba is missing. He's too well known to use with the others, and he's going to cause a lot of unwanted attention just by being here. This will take quite a lot of thinking. You're lucky you brought in such a stellar group, otherwise you'd be saying goodbye to several of your toes and fingers right now."

He returned to his seat, pouring out a glass of whiskey from a crystal bottle on his desk.

"For now, keep Kaiba separate from the others, until I figure out what to do with him. We'll head back down to the waterfront in the morning, to get started on the new "recruits". That'll be all, dismissed"

The two men departed, shutting the door behind them, while Higuchi pulled out the photos of the boys he had been poring over for the last few days. Now he had the real thing, ready to be used as he liked. Once the event next week was over, he'd be free to indulge himself fully. Sighing happily, he leaned back; despite the setback of Kaiba being brought in, this was still a truly great day for him.

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"Rise and shine, boys!"

Yami opened his eyes, to see a now familiar, but still unwelcome sight; Higuchi and his two thugs standing in the morning sunlight. He merely stared at the three, for he had no energy to even move.

They had been here for five days, not counting their first evening, and they had been denied any food, merely a single drink of water a day. The last Yami had eaten was Monday afternoon, and now it was Sunday morning.

Every inch of Yami's body ached, his bones creaking from dehydration, his skin red raw from the wire bonds and the rough concrete floor, and his legs bruised from the beatings they had received daily.

Every day had been spent slumped against the wall, being told their "rules" over and over, before each evening being shown the most minimum consequences they would face should they break those rules, that of a baton to the legs repeatedly. The starvation was apparently part of this "warning", as Higuchi called it, that they would only receive food with good behaviour. They hadn't even been allowed to clean themselves.

The rules required them to be effectively slaves, obedient at all times, only speaking if asked to, and to cater to their "boss's" every whim.

However, by now, Yami simply had lost much of the will to care. The only thing keeping him alive was the thought of getting his Aibou and his friends out of this nightmare. He had had the thought that they might have a chance to escape during the move to their "main facility" that Higuchi had mentioned on their first night, but it was weakening in his mind, just as his body was.

"Come on now, we've quite a busy day today, wake up!"

Higuchi. Though he'd known the man less than a week, Yami was already sure he'd never despised someone quite as much, not even during his life as the Pharaoh. The way he was so casual about the punishments he was inflicting, as though he were simply carrying on a conversation about the weather, even as he starved them, had them beaten, had them chained up, treated them as simple objects, Yami had never known such a callous man in his life.

Beyond all the bruises, the cuts, the aches, the worst sensation for Yami still originated from Higuchi. The feeling of filth all over his body, where the man had eagerly touched with his greedy fingers, was unbearable. He hadn't touched them since that first night, but just from that, Yami didn't think he'd ever feel truly clean again.

"God damn it, get them up!"

The pair moved along, shaking each of the boys roughly. Yami wondered why it had not occurred to them that the group was simply too weak to move.

"All through tonight we have our little initiation event, so today will be spent preparing for it. I trust by now you've learned the rules well enough to behave? Excellent."

He moved to the door, opening it and beckoning to someone. Yami was surprised to be another group of people enter, the first people he had seen other than Higuchi and his thugs. Unfortunately, these looked much the same as the pair, large, scruffy and distinctly unfriendly. There were at least six of them, and as soon as they had entered they crossed the room, and began to untie the members of the group.

Yami felt himself lifted up to his feet by one of them, but unable to support his own weight, the man half carried, half dragged him along. He realised they were being taken out of the room, and before he knew it, they were being hauled down a narrow, grimy corridor.

Yami knew he had just been presented with a chance to make a break for it, he was not bound, and the man's grip on him was only to stop him falling to the ground, it was not tight. Unfortunately, as much as he wanted to try, he simply couldn't muster the energy.

The group entered a new room, and Yami's heart leapt at the sight inside. Food.

A large table lay in the centre of the otherwise empty room, piled high with loaves of bread and bottles of water. Two benches ran up either side, and he found himself dropped unceremoniously onto one. The others soon joined him. He managed to give Yuugi a small smile, the first in days, who returned it weakly, but warmly nonetheless.

Higuchi stood at the end of the table. "You may eat and drink to your fill, if you are up to it"

Despite his lack of energy, he managed to reach out a hand and grasp one of the small loaves, desperately trying to get it close to his mouth. The feeling of relief as his teeth sunk into the bread was truly heavenly. He ate frantically, tearing into as many loaves as he could, while the others behaved similarly, save for Mokuba, who seemed to not even have enough strength to feed himself. Instead, Jounouchi was lifting the food to his mouth, only eating every second loaf, concentrating on feeding the boy instead.

Yami gulped down several of the bottles of water on top of his ravenous assault on the bread, feeling slightly more energetic already, enough to sit and eat comfortably at least. He could even ignore the presence of Higuchi and the other men.

A full half hour passed, by which time they had nearly exhausted the huge supply of food and drink, so utterly starving they were. Higuchi said nothing , merely stood and watched.

The last loaf had been seized by Bakura, who hesitated, a strange look on his face, before he handed it to Ryou instead. A grateful Ryou tore it into eight pieces, one for each of them, almost like a sort of ritual.

"I think that's enough for now, you should have enough strength for the day"

The table now devoid of food, they were again grabbed and escorted curtly out of the room by the men. Moving into another room, they were greeted, for the second time that morning, indeed that week, with a welcome sight.

The room was tiled, far cleaner than the rest of the building, and the walls were lined with showers. Yami had become desensitized to his own nudity over the past five days, but the sight of the showers strangely brought back the knowledge that he was indeed naked, in front of a large group of men, complete strangers. He hoped they would be allowed to shower alone.

"Now be quick, you've only a few minutes here as preparation for the main cleaning. Wash all the dirt off yourselves, then shampoo and condition your hair, got all that? Perfect. Now move."

They wasted no time, crossing to the shower heads, hoping they would have warm water. Yami could hear the men filing out, much to his relief, as he reached for the knob. A spray of warm, refreshing water hit him in the face. For a moment, he could forget where he was, why he was here, what was going to happen to him, and just enjoy the feel of the cleansing water running down his body.

"Boy, hurry it up!"

Yami turned, to see Higuchi glaring at him from the doorway, still with his ever present pair of thugs.

"You can relax away shortly, get to work now!"

Yami complied, attempting to rub as much of the grime off him with his hands as he could, under the hot stream. He looked around, seeing two bottles at the foot of each shower head, one of shampoo, the other of conditioner. The others were already working away dejectedly.

Five minutes later, he was finished, and moved to the centre of the room where the others were. Despite being sopping wet, he felt a great deal better. Higuchi was walking in front of them, apparently inspecting how clean they were.

"That should be fine, on we go"

The other men re-entered, once again taking a hold of the boys, though by now they had enough energy to forgo the need to be dragged, and simply walked, with the men's hands clamped firmly on their shoulders. They journeyed further down the corridor, much further away from their original room. Yami shivered as they walked, the air felt almost stinging now that he was wet. He wished they would give him something to cover his feet, the concrete floor was horribly coarse against his bare soles.

They reached a pair of double doors, and passing through them, Yami found himself surprised at the room beyond. Rather than the stark, grim, and grey rooms of before, the space before them could almost be called decorated. The walls were painted a dark, muted red, the numerous windows covered with blinds, giving the room subdued, dim lighting. The floor was tiled, and bare, except for the large pit in the centre of the room.

Being moved closer, Yami saw that it was a huge, square bath, perhaps three feet deep, but wide and long enough to accommodate at least ten people. A number of differently coloured glass bottles were arranged in a row along one side, along with a pile of small cloths and towel, and it was immaculately clean, the colour a pristine white.

The two thugs moved around to the other side of it, turning on the large, silver tap, and picking up two of the bottles. The bath slowly filled up, steam rising in a vast cloud towards the ceiling, as the two poured generous amounts of the contents of the two bottles in. From the effect on the water, and the smell, Yami guess one was for foam, the other some kind of bath oil or water perfume.

Once the bath was prepared, the group found themselves released.

"Hop in please"

They gladly complied, stepping into the soothing waters. Yami sat down, immersing himself in the waves, Yuugi to his right, Malik to his left. Realising they were finally reunited after being unable to reach each other while in their bindings, Yami slipped his hand over, under the water, and took his Aibou's hand in his. Yuugi smiled, gripping Yami's hand tightly.

"You may relax for a little while"

The other men left the room, leaving just the usual three. Higuchi said nothing further, he merely watched them.

Any feelings, any knowledge of the situation, were allowed to disappear, following the steam into the air. Some part of Yami still realised this peace was temporary, but he disregarded it, for this could be the last peace he experienced in this place. His mind was filled not with shame, hatred or misery, but harmony, content in the motion of the water, and the feel of his Aibou's tiny hand in his. He could be home again, for all he knew.

This bliss showed no signs of stopping, much to Yami's relief, and he rested his head back, his eyes closed. A lifetime seemed to pass, nay, an entire age, in which he knew nothing but his Aibou's fingers interlocked with his own. He had never said the full extent of his feelings for Yuugi out loud, or even thought it when they had been of shared minds, but now, it seemed must appropriate to try to communicate these feelings to him. Through their touch, Yami tried to express the vast love he held for him, simply through the delicate, yet firm grasp on his hand. He had no idea whether such a thing could work, but he truly hoped Yuugi could receive the message, since he doubted he would get many private moments to confess his feelings out loud from now on.

"That's twenty minutes of lazing time, more than enough. Now, I think you can get to work, but don't worry; it ought to be quite enjoyable. You see, I'm going to do things slightly different than normal, as I did with you on your first night"

He worked around to the far side of the bath, where everyone could see him, and indicated to the bottles and cloths.

"Clean yourselves with these supplies. They're in order, so ignore the first two. First you'll be using the scrub, then the gel, then the lotion, in that order. Understood? Wonderful."

He moved back around, his footsteps halting directly behind Yami.

"You will be extremely thorough, also, every single bit of you is to be meticulously cleaned. Now, normally, you'd just do it yourself, but after seeing how much fun you had performing your little stripteases on each other the other day, I think it might be more...interesting, if you were to wash each other. Now get to it. Same pairs as before"

Yami looked to his left, his own violet eyes staring directly into Malik's lavender irises. The Egyptian wore a resigned, almost tired expression, his eyes carrying a distinct look that said "Let's just get on with it". Retrieving a cloth, then soaking it in the thick liquid from the third bottle and working up a similarly thick lather, Yami leaned over Malik, who stretched himself out, raising as much of his torso above the water as he could.

Yami glanced over at Yuugi, who was determinedly scrubbing over Otogi's shoulders, being quite clinical about it. His gaze moved around the bath, stopping on Ryou and Bakura. He was rather surprised to see Bakura sliding the cloth over Ryou's pale chest quite softly, almost tenderly, their eyes regularly lifting up to meet, exchanging unknown feelings.

There was no such cherishing in how Mokuba and Jounouchi were going about it, however. As before, Jounouchi wore a pitiable expression of deep shame over having such close contact with the preteen, and Mokuba looked less embarrassed than he did horrified. He had most likely never been remotely close to being touched by someone in this manner before all this happened, his reaction was quite expected. Jounouchi moved quickly, rubbing the foaming cloth over the boy's skin without looking at what he was doing. Instead his eyes were fixed on Mokuba's, seemingly attempting to reassure him that everything was alright.

Yami turned his attention back to the matter at hand. Malik gave a weak sort of smile, encouraging Yami to begin. Taking up Malik's arm by the wrist, he started to scrub away along his forearm. He was surprised to find he wasn't hugely uncomfortable, the knowledge that Higuchi was likely watching them intently seemed to have vanished from his mind, and he relaxed as he worked away.

Having finished both arms, he moved across Malik's shoulders and his upper chest. His tanned skin was incredibly soft, and Yami, feeling an unexpected urge, moved his right hand over, sliding it down Malik's chest. The skin was silk underneath his fingers, and he heard a slightly sharp exhaling of breath. Glancing up, he saw that Malik's eyes were closed, his lips slightly parted, apparently enjoying Yami's hand running down his torso. Suddenly his eyes snapped open, and a vague blush appeared in his cheeks; he looked quite embarrassed. Yami felt his own cheeks burning, and quickly returned to using the cloth.

His thoughts began to come together as he worked, coming to a realisation; he had never noticed before, but Malik was astonishingly attractive. His forced close contact with the teen had obliged him to become aware of his velvet skin, his soft, golden hair, his thin, supple physique, and his beautiful, slender face.

Yami did not think of himself as a sexual creature, indeed, he never even thought about any of that, with a male or a female. His only feelings in that regard were for his Aibou, yet now he found himself quite plainly, strongly attracted to his Egyptian friend.

_What are you doing? _The realisation flashed through his mind. Yami guessed the thoughts were a result of the hot, comforting waters, and the fact that, through it, he felt safe and secure for the first time since their abduction. In any case, they were highly inappropriate in such a situation.

Trying to shake these thoughts from his mind, he continued on, finishing with the first bottle's contents, and moving on to the second. It worked into a smoother, lighter lather, and to his discomfort, Yami found himself once again having to explore every part of Malik's body. After finishing with this, and having used the third bottle, which was a very light lather, in fact it was more a cream than a lather, he lay back, dreading Malik returning the favour, for more reasons than one.

The obvious indignation at his body being touched against his will, even if it were, this time, by a friend, and not Higuchi, still rang clearly in his mind, but a more recently discovered reason also existed. He simply had no idea if he could control himself in such a situation, and the last thing in the world he wanted to happen at the moment would be to "rise" to the occasion, not with Malik touching him at the same time. It was already humiliating enough for Malik, he didn't need to add to it.

He lay back, feeling Malik begin to wash him, and tried to cast his mind elsewhere. He tried to pretend it was Yuugi rather than Malik, but quickly realised that was quite stupid; he was quite likely to have the same reaction to Yuugi touching him as Malik, indeed even more of a reaction. Attempting to find something else to think about, he shut his eyes, blocking out as much of reality as he could.

His thoughts turned to Anzu, Shizuka and Kaiba. He had no idea where they were or what had happened to them. Was it possible they had been left behind? From what he'd observed so far, the men here had little interest in females, and surely Kaiba would bring a lot of attention to them, being so prominent in the business world. But then, why take his brother? Anyone who knew the slightest thing about Seto Kaiba knew that nothing, not his company, nor his career, nothing, was more important to him than Mokuba. The worst part about this speculation was that Yami knew there would be no way to confirm any of it.

He was truly stuck here, along with his friends, and what's more, he knew by now it was only a matter of time before things got a lot worse. He knew Higuchi's interest in them was sexual, and while he'd touched them once so far, Yami knew that sooner or later, things would be taken to the next level. Perhaps that's this was all for, getting them ready for his benefit. The idea sent a horrible chill throughout his body.

Several minutes later, Malik had finished with all three bottles, and Yami sat back up, looking around. The others all seemed to be finished.

Yuugi and Otogi were sitting back, looking rather awkward, while Jounouchi and Mokuba were huddled closely; Jounouchi seemed to be speaking into the boy's ear very quietly, and while his words couldn't be made out, his tone was one of reassurance, probably trying to keep Mokuba's spirit up.

To Yami's surprise, Bakura and Ryou were lying very close together, in fact, they were fully shoulder to shoulder, their heads leaning against each other, both their eyes closed. This, combined with the image of Bakura carefully and tenderly washing Ryou before, created the thought in Yami's head that he had perhaps misjudged at least one aspect of Bakura, assuming he had no caring side, when these displays strongly suggested otherwise.

"Quite an impressive display, boys"

Higuchi circled the bath slowly, his eyes travelling over them carefully.

"You all look quite alluring like this, you know, it's such a shame we've work to be doing", a slight smirk accompanied his words.

He signalled to his two men, who crossed the room, opening the door, and letting in the rest of Higuchi's thugs. They each clutched a towel.

"Out we go, please. As before, you're receiving special privileges, so rather than this being done by my men, you can do it yourselves. Dry each other off as best you can."

Yami grudgingly took the towel from the man offering it to him, and began to dry off Malik. His own eyes moved over the scars on Malik's back as he worked. The intricate design seemed, at a first glance, to be a positive addition to his appearance, but up close, seeing and feeling each line of scar tissue, Yami could only think of the design as marring Malik's form, an unwarranted blemish on his otherwise perfect body. The knowledge that, however distantly, he had caused it to happen, was not a comfort.

When all had finished, the group were led out, being given socks to prevent their newly cleaned feet from being dirtied by the concrete floor. They found themselves brought into another room, where a number of irritable and seedy looking men began to, for lack of a better phrase, "dress them up". Their hair was dried and carefully arranged, sweet smelling oils were rubbed into their skin (the men still holding them ensured they could not resist this touch, as much as they tried) and eyeliner was applied to their faces. While Yami, Yuugi, Malik and Otogi, who wore it as part of their everyday attire often, had no added humiliation from this last addition, Jounouchi and Mokuba seemed to be greatly embarrassed about wearing it. Ryou and Bakura seemed indifferent to the application.

To each captive's vast relief, they were given clothing, a light dressing robe that covered them right from the neck to their feet. Following this they found themselves taken to a small room, containing a number of wooden chairs. Each of them sat down nervously, wondering what else the day could entail.

"Well, it's now the early evening, so you'll be waiting here for the next few hours. At midnight, we'll have our initiation event, which probably will take the whole night, then tomorrow morning we'll be moving to our main facility, and then you'll really start your new roles. Everyone clear? Good, now I'm going to confess I'm not pleased about this event, even though it will be very profitable for me. I don't expect you to enjoy it either, at least for tonight, but over the next few months, I hope you'll change your minds. I suggest you do, in any case, since it'll be happening regardless, so you might as well accept it and enjoy it's merits"

Higuchi said nothing further. He left the room, shutting the steel door behind him, leaving the group of men leaning against the wall, watching the captives closely.

Yami reached out and put an arm around Yuugi, relishing the chance to touch him freely again, unrestricted by chains. He felt a deep sense of apprehension throughout his mind; this "initiation event" was likely to be the worst thing they had experienced yet in their abduction. He held his Aibou close, a deep fear settling into his very soul.

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**A/N:**

**Long one again, though I think it's more of a transitional chapter.**

**Better warn in advance, the next chapter is going to be pretty unpleasant, maybe even a bit graphic, Yami's assertion about the initiation event is dead on.**

**As always, please point out any spelling/grammar errors, and thanks for reading : )**


	5. Chapter Five

"Aibou, I need to tell you something"

Yami was whispering into Yuugi's ear; they had all been brought out of the room after several hours, and now were sitting in a line along the wall of a long corridor, right beside a set of double doors. They were all alone for the first time that day, though the commotion on the other side of the doors indicated a great number of people were close by, which discouraged them from attempting any kind of escape.

Yami and Yuugi were seated closely, a short distance from the others, attempting to get as much privacy as they could. The others apparently had understood this, they seemed to be pointedly paying as little attention as they could to the two boys huddled together.

"I don't know exactly what's going to happen in that room, but I have a feeling things will never be the same after it. So with the little time I have, I need to tell you something important."

Yuugi said nothing, merely staring into Yami's eyes. Yami moved his face closer to Yuugi's, they were now no more than five inches apart.

"I never told you the real reason why I stayed after the Battle, I said I couldn't leave, but I never said why. I wanted to tell you in my own time, when we could just take as long as we liked, but it looks like these few minutes are going to be all the time we're getting. So I'm going to just come out and say it, as plainly as I can."

Yami leaned ever closer to Yuugi's face, his heart beating wildly.

"I stayed because of you. I stayed because I couldn't accept the idea of leaving, through my own choice, and never seeing your face, never hearing your voice, ever again. I gave up the chance to return to my family, my people, in the Afterlife, because I wanted to spent one more lifetime in this world, and to spend it with you."

Yuugi's eyes lit up, his mouth curved into a gloriously warm smile, and he slid his hands into Yami's, who took this joyful reaction as the sign he'd been hoping for, the sign that Yuugi mirrored his feelings exactly.

"I think you already know what I'm about to say, don't you?"

Yami grinned at Yuugi, whose own smile grew even wider.

Simultaneously, they both whispered the same three words, the three words they had denied themselves the pleasure of uttering for so many months, long before the Ceremonial Battle.

"I love you"

Yami closed the small gap between their faces, and lightly pressed his lips to Yuugi's. To his immense satisfaction, he felt his Aibou respond swiftly, kissing him back. The kiss was simple, even chaste, but the emotions that flowed through it were what mattered; the deep, tongue laden kisses could come another, more appropriate, time.

They lingered, savouring the feel of their lips pressed against one another, their hands interlocked tightly. After a few moments, they reluctantly broke away, and Yami leaned back, the knowledge of their grim situation pushed to the side for now, replaced only with bliss, as he looked into his Aibou's beautiful eyes. Their gazes locked together, exchanging a myriad of feelings with each other, with their hands still joined, never wishing to let go.

"Wonderful display"

They were both sharply dragged from their moment, as they spun their heads around to see the source of the voice. Higuchi stood in front of the doors, his eyes fixed on the two of them, and an unpleasant leer on his face. He smirked as he took a step down the hall, towards them.

"I'm glad to see you've already started practice, though you'll have to be far more lewd than that in your actual work."

Jounouchi scrambled to his feet, his expression furious, just as Higuchi's two thugs came through the double doors. Before he could launch himself at Higuchi, he was grabbed and flung back down by the pair. Malik, Bakura and Otogi had all made similar moves at getting up to attack Higuchi, but ceased their own attempts, dropping back against the wall dejectedly.

"It's good to know that you're all quite energetic, because I suspect this ought to be quite tiring for you. We're ready to begin."

Yami seethed silently, wishing for nothing more than to strike down the man before him, not only for his abduction and treatment of them all, but for dismissing the perfect moment with his Aibou so condescendingly. Had he not still been gripping Yuugi's hands, he would likely have risen and thrown himself at Higuchi, thugs or not.

"I'm disappointed however; I thought you'd learnt manners by now. Seems we'll need to work on you more after all."

He leaned down, close to Jounouchi.

"If you ever make something even remotely resembling a threatening move towards me again, I'll have your legs broken, understood?"

Without waiting for an answer, he stood up straight again.

"We're ready for you now, so on your feet, now"

The group of thugs returned through the double doors, once again seizing the captives roughly and, regardless of whether they were fully standing, dragging them along, through the doors.

The room beyond was unlike anything they'd seen yet. At first they appeared to be in another corridor, but they quickly realised the walls alongside them were only wooden barriers, shielding the rest of the room from view. However, they could see that the ceiling was far, far above and in the limited view of the area behind the barriers they had above them, they were unable to see the walls; the room was cavernous.

They were led briskly along, between the barriers, which stood around the height of the rooms they had been in prior to this one, their destination being a small staircase at the end. Yami could hear voices on one side of the barrier, it sounded like a small crowd at least. What exactly was going to happen?

Yami had concluded (with a great deal of skin crawling as a result) prior to this that Higuchi was moving things to the next level in this event, but hadn't expected a crowd, he must have been wrong in his deduction.

Being given little time to ponder this, he found himself pulled up the short staircase, apparently onto some kind of wooden stage. Both sides were hidden by curtains, and the other end was another wooden wall, with a door in the centre. A chorus of murmurs could be heard behind the curtain to their left; they had an audience.

"I'm sure you'd love the opportunity to prove your obedience, but right now, I can't take any risks that you'll misbehave, you understand? So I'm taking some precautions"

Higuchi made a sweeping motion with his hand, indicating towards the curtain on their right.

"Be quick. And no noise"

He was apparently speaking to his thugs, because the group were immediately dragged along, behind the curtain. What lay beyond froze Yami's blood.

The curtain hid the back of the stage, which ended with another wall a short way in, and in the small area, was a row of a dozen tall, metal poles. Each pole was at least seven feet tall, and at various intervals down along their length, there were half loops, set into the pole itself. Eight of the poles had been prepared for them.

At intervals that looked to be tailored to each of their individual heights, hung heavy chains, ending in shackles, with similar chains at the bottom of each. Before they had even a moment to process this chilling sight, they were pulled over to their respective pole.

Each of the boys attempted to resist, but they were outnumbered, two to one, and their captors were far larger. Despite their desperate struggles, they found themselves quickly pressed against the cold metal, feeling the grim snap of the shackles around their wrists and ankles. The horror did not end there. Eight of the men each took a small object from a box at one end of the stage, before walking up to each of the captives. As the man in front of him raised the small object above Yami's head, he realised what it was; a ball gag. His arms hanging hopelessly above him, his feet useless in the chains, he could do nothing as he felt the strap come down over his head, and the ball shoved roughly into his mouth.

The man seemed to now be undoing different parts of the robe Yami was wearing; it appeared the robe was designed to come apart without the arms moving. Realising his all too brief period of being clothed again was over, Yami simply hung his head, resigned to this further humiliation. The robe was removed, leaving him naked once again, more vulnerable now then he had ever felt in his whole life. Even the times from the first night in this place were better, he had been curled up on the floor then, and at least when he was stripped the first time, he had not been chained up.

But now he found himself displayed like an object, stretched out, standing, with no way to move, and not even a way to speak. He was open, naked in more ways than one. Anything could happen to him in this state, and he would be powerless to stop it. A far more disturbing thought quickly arrived; he would also be unable to protect any of the others, only stand by and watch.

The curtain shifted slightly, and Higuchi appeared, looking around at them all briefly, before turning to the men.

"All set?"

Receiving a confirming nod from the men, he vanished again. Yami heard a faint winding sound; he guessed the curtain on the other side of the stage was being lifted. The low whispers of the crowd ceased immediately.

"Good evening, everyone, sorry for the delay, but I assure you, it's worth it tonight. Now, most of you have been attending these events for many years now, so I'm sure you think you've seen it all by now, and are just hear for the fun. Well, I'm pleased to inform you that we've got the collection to shatter any expectations of yours. This really is one for the ages, trust me."

A powerful mix of emotions pulsed through Yami's mind upon hearing him address the audience, they would be displayed like some kind of art collection? Rage, anger and hate coursed through his veins, but outweighing them all was fear. Not for himself, but for the others.

"Should there be any weak hearts in the audience, the men will be standing by with a defibrillator"

A low chuckle ran through the crowd, Yami could nearly feel Higuchi's smirk at his own joke through the curtain.

"Well, there's no point in delaying you all further, so let's get on with the show, shall we? Curtain number two, please."

In the instant he had, Yami attempted to catch his Aibou's eye, to reassure him in any way he could, but Yuugi had shut his eyes tightly, directing his face towards the floor. Quickly looking over the others, he saw they had all done the same, except for one; Bakura. Violet stared into brown for a split second, reflecting the same emotion, terror. Then the curtain had lifted, and their only barrier against this horror was gone.

No fewer than thirty pairs of eyes were fixed on them. In front of the stage, in several rows of chairs, were seated a large group of men. The youngest no older than thirty, the oldest not a day under sixty, and between them all, not a single one was dressed anything less than immaculately; these men were most certainly all wealthy.

The stage, it seemed, was situated in the centre of a huge room, most likely a warehouse of some sort.

Yami wished he could shut his eyes, to block out the sight of the men staring up and down his exposed body, but he simply couldn't leave himself in the dark and not know what was going on.

The eyes in the crowd were wide, their owners apparently speechless; Higuchi had clearly gotten his desired reaction.

"Quite a collection, don't you think? Though they're being a bit shy at the moment, let's see them better"

These words appeared to be a cue for the thugs standing along the edges of the stage, for eight of them crossed over, behind each of the boys, and seized them by the head, before pulling them back roughly, preventing them from hiding their faces in their chests. Yami had not attempted to hide, but he nonetheless found himself treated the same, a pair of strong hands closed over the sides of his head, and pulled back until he was pinned against the pole.

"Everyone has a good look at them? Now, as always, these is as far as most of you will get to them, at least for the moment, but now we can determine the lucky eight who will get to be first."

He moved over, standing in front of Bakura and Ryou, who were at the right end of the group.

"Now, as you can see, we have twins here. However, tonight, it'll be restricted to one each, just to be fair. But in the future, you may book both, just to clear that up, since twins are a rarity."

He walked along the row, as though he were merely exhibiting products in an infomercial.

"So here we have what is quite simply a perfect group, all potentially yours for the taking, so I hope to see eight wallets considerably lighter after tonight. Let's start the bidding"

Bidding? Bidding? Yami could not believe it. Bidding?

He had never been totally sure of what would happen, he had had solid ideas of what might be coming, and all of them had been horrific, but none as maliciously cold and cruel as this. Everything fit together perfectly. Why they had been dressed up like this; for the benefit of their audience. Why Higuchi had expressed displeasure about this event; he wanted them to himself. And worst of all, why it had been so important they were virgins; to make money from auctioning them off to the highest bidder.

Revulsion, shame, fear, Yami felt all these feelings settling down upon him in vast waves. Disgust for the people so cruel as to do this, disgrace for his body being taken in such a vile way, and terror for the knowledge that his Aibou and friends faced the same fate.

"Moving from your left to right, as always"

He moved down to the end of the line, standing beside the first victim, Ryou.

"Let's begin"

The bids started quickly, the crowd was clearly very eager. Despite this, it was most formal, as though it were being conducted by civilized people. Yami knew this could the ultimate hypocrisy; civility could not truly exist in this situation, only beasts could stoop this low, yet the pretence went on. The bids were huge, going up by thousands every time; the audience evidently had deep pockets.

Eventually, after a number of minutes, they ceased, a winner found.

"As I said, one each, so would our winner please step up here, to wait?"

The winner, a short and fat man in his fifties, with almost no hair, arrived up on the stage, standing to the side and watching the terrified Ryou hungrily.

Higuchi stepped over, his hand indicating towards Bakura.

"Next round, begin"

The next auction went much as the first, formal, yet furious nonetheless, with bids just as huge. It's winner joined the fat man on the stage, eyeing his newly purchased prey.

The auctions continued on, next for Otogi, then Jounouchi, Mokuba and Malik. Yami had simply drowned out the endless bidding, trying not to think about anything, to keep his mind blank, but he found himself sharply torn out of this by the sound of Higuchi's footsteps ceasing right in front of him; it was his turn. He heard the bids announced, prices for his body, and for a brief moment, he wished he had gone to the afterlife, and not remained in this world. The moment passed, however, when his buyer had joined the others on the stage, and Higuchi stood in front of the reason Yami had stayed.

This would have happened to the group regardless of whether he, Yami, had gone on or not, thus the desire to have left after all, died swiftly when he looked at Yuugi, whom he had forsaken Paradise with his family for, and who would need his unyielding support and affection to survive this torture. A new desire emerged, far stronger than the previous; he would see his Aibou freed from this, no matter the cost.

The bids ended, and the auction was over.

"We have our winners, gentlemen, so please remain seated for the show"

The men in the audience all looked supremely disappointed, contrasting sharply with the abhorrent beaming faces of the eight winners. Higuchi moved back down to the end, standing beside Ryou once more.

"Now, as per normal procedure, we'll sort out the details for your excursion, with the usual three questions. Our first winner step forward please."

Yami did not want to hear these details, he did not want to hear his friend's dignity defiled with such words. He would tear his own ears off before he would willingly hear them, but perhaps simply to add to their suffering, to let them know exactly what fate they faced, they heard the questions and answers clearly.

The fat man eagerly shuffled over. Higuchi's men stood ready to carry out whatever the details were going to be. Higuchi began:

"Now, first, public or private?"

"Private, this time, I'd like to keep this bitch to myself"

"Second, gag, on or off?"

"Off, I want to see if he squeals as much like a girl as he looks"

"Third, lubricant, yes or no?"

"Yeah, for my own sake"

"Excellent"

The men moved swiftly, undoing Ryou's shackles, and pulling his arms down behind his back, before handcuffing them together. Two of them pulled him away, towards the side of the stage, where the door they had seen earlier was located. Yami saw inside briefly when they opened it, it seemed to be a sizable, purpose built room, split into a number of large cubicles. Ryou turned his head before he was shoved inside, looking back at the group. Tears ran freely from his brown eyes, his expression begging for some sort of reprieve, something to help him, but no such aid came. He disappeared from their view, the aura of despair truly setting in, now that one of their number had been taken away.

A shrill banging split the silence, metal on metal. Bakura was flailing wildly, jerking at his chains, struggling violently to be free. His face was contorted in rage, his teeth biting into his gag, and a muffled, but guttural snarl coming from his throat. Yami understood the brutal display, he wouldn't have a week ago, but he had seen their behaviour towards one another, and the reason for the thief's anger was clear by now; Ryou was Bakura's own Aibou.

Several of the thugs restrained Bakura, and despite his fury, he was not strong enough to resist them. The winner of Bakura, a tall and beefy man in his forties, looked pleased at the boy's fire.

Higuchi continued on, asking his questions.

"Public or private?"

"Public, this beast needs to be tamed where everyone can see"

"Gag, on or off?"

"Definitely off, those snarls are too good to miss"

"Lubricant, yes or no?"

"No, I won't be needing that for sure"

The man wore a broad smile on his face as Bakura was released, handcuffed and pulled, still struggling, by three of the thugs over to the front of the stage, where two were pulling a mattress over. Bakura was thrown onto it, and held down. They evidently elected to not remove his gag yet.

Higuchi moved on to Otogi, while a broad, solid looking man in his early thirties stepped closer.

"Public or private?"

"Private, not too into voyeurs"

"Gag, on or off?"

"On, there'll be enough noise already"

"Lubricant, yes or no?"

"Yes, please, gotta keep my health"

Otogi soon vanished into the other room like Ryou, driving the dwindling group further into anguish.

Jounouchi's buyer, a hulking and imposing man in his late thirties, moved forward.

"Public or private?"

"Public, couldn't hide this guy from everyone, it'd be on my conscience"

"Gag, on or off?"

"On, I'll be the one making the noise"

"Lubricant, yes or no?"

"Nope, he can take it just fine by the looks of him"

Jounouchi, like Bakura, struggled as best he could with the thugs, but found himself pinned on a second mattress a short way from the boy, despite this.

And now, it came to the lowest point.

A short, heavy man well into his fifties impatiently slid up, as Higuchi stopped beside Mokuba. The man's three answers disgusted Yami beyond all reckoning.

"Private, no way I'm sharing that pretty little thing"

"No gag, I'm definitely not going to waste such young lungs"

"Yeah, I'd better, it's going to be fucking tight enough as it is"

There was not a trace of shame on a single one of the men's faces. Higuchi, the buyer, the audience, none of them had the slightest care as the child was dragged away, crying hysterically, into the room to await his despicable fate.

Now Malik's buyer, a balding, slim man of medium height, at least forty, answered Higuchi's ugly questions.

"Private, I bought it, so I'm getting it alone"

"On, don't want to be hearing any whining"

"Yeah, prefer it nice and slick"

A new feeling dawned on Yami, as he watch Malik be jerked away, towards the doors. Malik was here because of Yami, he had only been in Domino because of him, the "Pharaoh". If it had not been for Yami staying, Malik would be at home in Egypt, with his family, not here, in this hell. Guilt washed over Yami, pushing him deeper into the darkness, even as he looked back to find Higuchi and his buyer, a tall and intimidating blonde man in his late forties, stood in front of him.

"Public, it'll be a goddamn art display for everyone to admire, with that hair and body"

"Off, I love their squeals."

"Yeah, for me only though, so I can start fast"

So much powerfully negative emotion in such a short time had taken the fight out of Yami, he didn't not bother resisting as he was freed, handcuffed and taken to a third mattress now laid out near the very front of the stage.

He simply lay there, face down, almost limp, knowing that hearing the next, and final, set of questions answered could very well break him entirely. There was nothing to prepare him for hearing what was effectively his Aibou's sentence being spoken.

"Private, too small to share"

"On, the screeching can get on my nerves while I'm working"

"Yeah, looks like a pretty tight one"

While he could perhaps be grateful he would not have to see his Aibou defiled so cruelly, the vulgar and revolting way the man spoke about Yuugi, like he was just a mere "thing", induced a silent, burning rage in Yami. On this exact moment, he swore in his mind one thing; he would get revenge for this. Not for him, but for Yuugi, Mokuba, Malik, Jounouchi, Ryou, Otogi and Bakura. These disgusting people would pay for this torture, and he would ensure it they did, whatever it took.

The men dragged a fourth object out onto the stage, a chair. Higuchi sat down, crossing his legs and sitting back, looking quite relaxed. His eyes met Yami's, and at the sight of Yami's face blazing with hatred, he merely smiled.

Five of the buyers vanished into the room, the door snapping shut behind them. The sound echoed lightly, for a moment, like a distant bell chiming, sealing their fate. Yami heard footsteps stop directly behind him. He closed his eyes, he would have some measure of dignity remain with him; he would not yield. This man "loved their squeals"? He would get none. No matter what, Yami would not a make a sound, not give him the satisfaction. If he could do this, this small act of resistance, he would know whether he could survive this ordeal.

A hand grabbed him roughly by the back of the neck, forcing his face into the mattress.

_Don't make a noise_.

This would be a test for his very soul. He felt a heavy weight descend over him, a hand running over his back. The hand on his neck moved up and seized hair, then jerked back his head.

He could see the audience. They were cheering.

Their veneer of civility was gone, they jeered, hollered, shouted for more. No false formality, no fake show of manners, only the beasts they really were could be seen now.

Hot breath washed over his neck, the weight on him shifted forwards, the man's face appeared in Yami's vision.

_Not a sound._

A tongue ran up his cheek. Fingers tightened in his hair, pulling his head back even further. A second hand raked it's nails down his back, before sliding over his behind.

_Keep quiet._

His face was forced sideward's, and rough lips were pressed to his own, hard. A shrill screech could be heard from behind the door to his left. Ryou.

_Concentrate._

A tongue ripped it's way into his mouth. The hand clenched itself around his backside. Faint, muffled cries were barely audible from his left. Malik, Otogi...his Aibou.

_You can't give in._

The weight shifted once more, the tongue left his mouth, and the fingers released his hair. A zipper could be heard. Yami turned his head. Jounouchi, still gagged, was barely visible beneath his abuser. Bakura's teeth were clenched, and he made no noise, even as his predator slid his legs apart.

_You are stronger than this bastard. Prove it._

Hands tightly gripped the back of his thigh, forcing them to spread.

_You are stronger._

His Aibou was being raped, his friends were being violated. Hands grabbed him by the shoulders, pinning him firmly to the mattress.

_You can win._

A high pitched scream rang throughout the whole warehouse, from the room. A child's echoing shriek. Mokuba's.

_You can..._

A voice in his ear, the man had leaned down. "Try your best to out-squeal that, won't you?"

_Don't make a sound._

_Don't-_

It happened. He was taken with a single brutal thrust. The agony was beyond anything imaginable. The man did not hesitate for even a second; he immediately pulled back and thrust again, and again, and again, violently pounding into his entrance. Blinding, malicious pain jolted through his body every time, and he could feel blood flowing out, onto the mattress. Hot tears spilled from Yami's widened eyes, his body shuddered fiercely, his mouth opened wide, and his lungs emptied of air.

But he did not scream.

The pain wracked through him, the man slammed into him over and over, but no noise came from Yami's mouth, but heavy exhaling.

He could hear screams and cries from the others, in the room, even from Jounouchi, but he let out no cry of his own. It was all he had in the world at this instant, his silence, and he would not lose it.

He was not alone in his silence, Bakura made no noise, even as his buyer mercilessly drove into him, his teeth still clenched.

_We both have an Aibou to be strong for. We won't yield._

Time marched on, the pain seemed to be endless, the man never appearing to tire, still thrusting vigorously over and over. But still Yami made no sound.

His buyer appeared to be growing angry, his pounding becoming even more violent, even desperate. He seemed to be completely hinged on whether or not his victim made a noise or not. The sadistic pleasure of hearing someone scream and shriek at his hands was being denied to him, and it was clear that this was the main reason he had come to this place tonight. Yami would not give him this; he would go home empty handed.

He could feel it inside him, the man was reaching his limit, and Yami guessed Higuchi would only permit him one try. Frantically, he dug his nails into Yami's shoulders, deep enough to draw blood. His thrusts became more and more brutal, increasing in tempo, becoming truly desperate, yearning for his victim to make a noise, to acknowledge his assault...then nothing. They stopped suddenly, and Yami felt the man climax inside of him, before withdrawing.

_I win._

"Strong boy"

Yami turned his head to the right, Higuchi was crouching down, his face close to Yami's. He was beaming.

"I had a feeling you'd take it well, I'm very proud of you."

Resisting the urge to spit in his face, Yami turned his face back down, closing his eyes. His face was drenched from tears and sweat, and his breathing was ragged. The mattress was wet underneath his lower regions from blood, and his back entrance felt ravaged, mangled. But he had survived.

Higuchi had risen and moved along to the others. Most of the screams and muffled cries had stopped, the majority of the buyers, it seemed, were finished. The man on Bakura, however, seemed far from finished, still brutally violating the thief, whose face was contorted in pain, but who still remained silent.

Yami's mind had begun to spin, the strain of the night's event was finally taking it's toll. Having lain there, motionless, for several minutes after the man had finished with him, he felt himself pulled up to his feet by two of the thugs. His vision was blurred, his surroundings distorted. He was led along, while he tried to catch any signs of the others in his hazy sight. Failing this, he closed his eyes, and slowly breathed in and out, trying to get his bearings. After a minute, he felt his mind clearing slightly. Still breathing deeply and slowly, he raised his eyelids.

It seemed he'd been taken back to the area where the poles were, the curtain had been lowered again, and he'd been left sitting against the back wall. Beside him was Jounouchi, who was bleeding badly from his back entrance; the man on him had clearly been none too gentle.

Both of them were still handcuffed, and were unable to move their hands to aid the other, so Yami simply nodded to Jounouchi reassuringly. The blonde was still gagged, and could only nod in response. His face was dry; he hadn't shed any tears during it.

The curtain parted, and more of the men appeared, dragging with them Otogi and Malik, both looking less injured by their buyers than Jounouchi, but no less tormented. Malik's face was wet with fresh tears, Otogi's face dry like Jounouchi's, but his eyes still watery. They were dropped down on opposite sides of the two already seated, and Malik leaned over immediately, pressing his face against Yami's shoulder. Yami leaned his head down, resting it on Malik's hair, offering what little comfort he could to the still crying Egyptian.

Bakura was bought in next, looking far worse than any of them. Not only was he bleeding profusely from inside, his back and arms were bruised, and with several scratches on them, from fingernails, his buyer had been most violent with him. He said nothing, despite having no gag, merely sat there, motionless, staring at the spot where the curtain parted.

Soon, they moved once more, and in was dragged Mokuba and....Yuugi.

Yami immediately scrambled over to the side, moving a space for them to put Yuugi beside him. Malik, understanding, moved also. Yami awkwardly attempted to embrace his Aibou, but with both of them handcuffed, he could only press against him. Yuugi was not injured badly physically, his buyer had not been too rough, but he was nonetheless weeping heavily, and leaned closely into Yami's chest. Shushing him quietly, trying to sooth his Aibou, Yami looked over at Mokuba.

The boy was hysterical, sobbing uncontrollably with his head buried in Jounouchi's shoulder. Jounouchi could not do much other than shush him as Yami was doing to Yuugi. Jounouchi had shed no tears while being raped, but his eyes were full of them now, as he tried to calm Mokuba.

During this commotion, the curtain had parted once more, and Ryou was brought in, and dropped at the end beside Bakura, who instantly threw his bruised body over, pressing it against Ryou's, in an attempted hug of sorts. They were the only two among them that were currently pressed together that had both had their gags removed, and they took clear advantage of this, as Bakura was whispering quietly into Ryou's ear. Yami watched them, expecting confirmation of what he had suspected that whole week. It soon followed, as Bakura shifted around, until both their faces were very close. He stared into Ryou's still tear-filled eyes for a moment, before leaning closer, and pressing his lips to Ryou's, kissing him softly.

Yami looked away, not wishing to intrude. Most of them had been broken by this, he did not know if any of the others had endured yet, but he had survived, at any rate, and he could still be grateful for that. As long as at least one of them had, their last bit of hope stayed alive. Hope that they could escape this torment, this nightmare.

The curtain parted once again, and Higuchi, with his two usual thugs, approached.

"Break time's over, time to go. We've got a long journey ahead of us."

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**A/N:**

**Sorry for the delay with this one, I was debating with myself over a lot of the content. In the end I decided it'd be best to just go into full detail and not rush any part of it. These sort of people do exist, and this sort of things do happen, so I didn't bother sugar coating it.**

**Chapter six probably won't be nearly as long as this one, so expect it a bit sooner.**

**Thanks for reading, and as always, please point on any spelling/grammar errors you might see, that I missed.**


	6. Chapter Six

Blindfolds. Not content with taking their dignity, their freedom and even their speech, Higuchi now saw fit to take their sight as well.

Following the event, those that had had theirs taken off for the climax, were gagged once again, and everyone was blindfolded. They had been given nothing for their injuries, but had at least been clothed in the white robes again.

Now they found themselves being dragged through darkness, without any idea where they might be going. Higuchi had of course mentioned the so called "main facility", but Higuchi had also called auctioning them off to be raped an "initiation event", so Yami had no idea what this new place could be. The floor beneath them as they scrambled along was rough and cold, no different from the concrete they'd spend the last week on, but judging from Higuchi's mentioning of a long journey, they were nowhere near their next resting place.

Yami's bleeding had stopped, but he nevertheless felt the sickening feeling of wet blood all down his legs, and pain still pulsed through him as he moved, the sensation of having been torn open lingering. Despite the constant reminders every time he moved, he refused to let himself dwell on the cause of his discomfort. To do so would only cause depression to set in, and he needed to stay alert, he couldn't risk missing a chance for them to escape. He had failed the others once now; he couldn't let them be subjected to such a torture again.

Suddenly they stopped, and Yami heard another heavy door being pulled open. He was shocked to feel a cold breeze wash over them, accompanied by the sounds of light waves and seagulls. They seemed to be going outside, but more importantly, they seemed to be beside the ocean. The chilling air flowed around them as they were ushered out, feeling wood beneath their feet, were they in the harbour?

Yami had no time to ponder further, as they were unceremoniously lifted up by the men and flung forward, hitting a metal floor some way off the ground. Though he could not see, Yami could guess they'd been put into a van or truck. The loud rumble that began soon after seemed to confirm this notion.

He tried to sit up, but felt sharp pain from his backside as soon as he put pressure on it. He could only lie on his side, unable to see or speak, not able to tell who was next to him. The space was cramped, and from the sounds of movement, everyone was tangled into a pile, trying to get some kind of bearing.

Just as the group seemed to have straightened themselves out, the vehicle lurched forward suddenly. Without restraints, they were flung backwards, those at the back striking the locked doors, with the others crashing into them. Yami felt his head connect sharply with someone else's, and immediately his vision blurred, his mind losing clarity.

Unable to control his limbs fully, he fell back again, onto the person, who had similarly collapsed. The vehicle was moving fast, effectively pinning them down in their disorientated state. Struggling to stay conscious, Yami turned his head weakly, his face being pressed against the person's back, whose robe must have opened in the commotion, for Yami could feel skin against his cheek. It was soft, but he could also feel scars across it. Malik...

Suddenly he could no longer feel it; indeed he could feel nothing at all. He felt strange, somehow light, as though he were floating. He could still feel the movement of the vehicle, but it now felt more like air moving around him. Without warning, the darkness he had been shrouded in was illuminated by a swirl of colours, spinning all around him. They began to coalesce, forming into the shape of a hand.

Yami blinked, a hand was holding his blindfold in front of him. He was no longer in the vehicle. However, when he looked around him, he found he was once again behind the curtain on that terrible stage he had left behind less than an hour ago.

The gag still in his mouth, he could say nothing, instead he simply looked up at the person before him, Higuchi.

"The bidding's over, you have a buyer. He ended up winning the bids for everyone, actually. He ought to be finished with the other specimens now."

Yami merely stared, unable to comprehend how he was back he so quickly, but before he could give it any more thought, the curtain raised up.

He froze, a deep shock pulsing through his body at the sight.

Blood. The entire stage was drenched in crimson. Strewn across the stained wood were his companions, motionless. They were soaked with blood, mutilated, covered in deep, ugly slash and stab wounds, their eyes lifeless. In the centre was a man, his face obscured by a hood, cackling excitedly even as he held a limp, inert Malik up by the hair and drove a long, bloody knife into the Egyptian's maimed eye. Scarlet gushed out, over his hand, before he looked up, directly at Yami. He withdrew the knife and dropped Malik to the ground.

"I won the auction, I get to do what I like. And I think I'd like to see what your face looks like without all that skin"

He advanced his hands outstretched eagerly. Yami had simply stood in shock, incapable of processing the sights, but now fear and horror washed over him in full force. He tried to scramble backwards, but found his hands and feet were chained together. He felt the man seize his hair and force his face upwards. Helpless, he looked over pleadingly at Higuchi, who merely watched indifferently as the knife was lowered.

"Sorry Yami, he won the auction, there's nothing I can do about it"

Yami? Higuchi did not know his name. The blade touched his skin, but Yami did not even notice, feeling detached suddenly. Higuchi could not know his name, Higuchi....

...Higuchi.

"Up! We've no time to be wasting"

Higuchi stood in front of Yami as before, holding his blindfold. Yami's head spun around wildly. He was in a van, the others seated around him, their blindfolds removed also, and devoid of knife wounds. Yami looked back quickly, his hazy mind slowly catching up. He was drenched in sweat, his breathing fast and heavy. He was still seeing split second flashes of that horrific blood-soaked stage. What had brought on such a vivid nightmare? He never dreamt normally, but this had felt so real.

"What's the matter with you? Carsick? Get out of there"

The others were already climbing out uneasily; with their hands still handcuffed behind their backs, they could barely manoeuvre themselves out. Someone was brushing past Yami, but stopped. He turned his head, finding himself face to face with Malik. The Egyptian's eyes were worried, and seemed to be looking for some kind of confirmation from Yami.

His eyes, Yami had just seen them be put out permanently, but here they were now, as bright and brilliantly lavender as always. Yami stared into them, feeling lost once again, unable to shake the bloody images his mind had conjured up. His mind still felt slightly fuzzy, still not one hundred percent conscious.

"You two, hurry up!"

Snapping out of his uncertainty, Yami nodded reassuringly (at least he hoped it was reassuring) at Malik. His friend still looked very much concerned, but moved forward nonetheless, nearly falling out of the van.

Upon emerging himself, and being able to see outside, Yami found himself once again shocked by his surroundings.

Around the back of the van, encircling the group were Higuchi and his two ever present thugs, along with a number of other unsavoury looking men.

They seemed to be at the side of a vast back courtyard. Looking to his right, Yami saw they had stopped right behind an immense, three story house. Indeed, it could only be called a mansion. They had only a moment to take in the view, however, before Higuchi spoke again.

"Right, Carter, Blain, you know the drill. I want you up and down in ten minutes, no more"

Evidently, Carter and Blain were his two thugs, for they moved forward immediately. The other men seized the group firmly and pushed them towards the mansion. Before they entered, Yami looked around, trying to see were the mansion might be situated, but could only see a thick forest surrounding the mansion's grounds.

They were moved swiftly, passing through richly furnished hallways, and up elaborately carved staircases, before halting, on the third floor, before a series of polished oak doors.

The first door was opened, and Ryou and Bakura were pulled inside. Before any of the group could react, they were jerked along to the second door, through which Jounouchi, Otogi and Mokuba were taken. Yami, Yuugi and Malik were moved on, towards the third door.

"I've got this one, Carter"

One of the two now named thugs had spoken, Yami recognized him as the one that had beaten him and Malik with his baton their first night as captives. It seemed he was Blain, the other was Carter. With a jolt of realization, he noticed the man's voice sounded familiar also, it was the same he had heard just before passing out from the gas bomb in Yuugi's kitchen; these two were the ones that had kidnapped them. He felt silent anger welling up inside him; these two were second only to Higuchi himself for how much suffering they were responsible for.

Carter nodded and moved back towards the second door, disappearing through it. Blain opened the third door and entered. The men holding Yami, Yuugi and Malik also moved into the room, leading the boys into yet another unknown.

The room was of a medium size, with plain white walls and a wood floor. Two windows marked the opposite walls, covered over with metal bars. The room was completely empty and bare, except for three mattresses laying at equal intervals beside the wall to their left. Above each, Yami saw, his heart sinking, attached low on the wall, were chains. They seemed to be only a single chain each, only meant for one limb.

Yami was pulled over to the centre mattress. He felt the man holding him unlock his hand cuffs and quickly attach the chain to his right wrist, shoving him down, onto the mattress. The same was done to Yuugi, on the mattress to his left, but before the man holding Malik could do anything, Blain stepped over, signalling for him to let the boy go.

"I'll get him, you lot go and wait outside, and shut the door"

Looking perplexed, the men obeyed, snapping the door closed behind them.

They were not the only ones confused; the three boys were just as perturbed. Blain pushed Malik over to the mattress on Yami's right, as the others had. However, without any warning, he spun Malik to face him, seized him roughly by the throat and slammed him back against the wall.

Yami and Yuugi attempted to make noises of protest through their gags, and move to help, but the chains meant they were out of reach.

Malik's hands were still handcuffed, pinned uselessly to the wall behind him. Blain reached up with his other hand and wrenched off Malik's gag. The Egyptian immediately began to cough and splutter, Blain's large hand clamped tightly around his neck. Blain put his free hand over Malik's mouth.

"Don't cough in my fucking face, boy"

He leaned down, his face mere inches from Malik's.

"I've been waiting a week for this. I wanted to just give you a good thrashing after it, but the boss called me off. I suppose you've him to thank for this. Cause I've been thinking it was good he called me off, cause now I've got a much better way to pay you back for that disrespect you showed me."

Now Yami remembered; Malik had kicked Blain after he had hit Yami, and Higuchi had stopped him retaliating. But he had seemed furious, far beyond the anger a kick should have warranted.

Blain pressed Malik back against the wall harder, seeming to enjoy the power he had over the far smaller male. He smiled unpleasantly before speaking again.

"Next week me and Carter are off again, on the hunt for more collections, but I come by here once a week, for meetings with the boss. And every week from here on out, you're going to be sitting up here. Well, I'm not gonna let that go to waste. You'll learn your lesson the real hard way, and I'll have a lot more fun than just beating it into you. Sounds fucking win win to me."

He removed his hand from Malik's throat, and ran it down the boy's clothed chest, before grabbing his crotch forcefully. Malik's eyes widened in surprise and discomfort.

"You've got a sexy body for sure, kid, especially with all those scars on your back. I'm gonna really love taking it for a ride"

He moved even closer to Malik's face, and ran his tongue up Malik's cheek.

"And you're gonna to keep quiet about it, or I'm gonna kill you, understand?"

Abruptly, he released Malik, and shoved him down, onto the mattress. He unlocked his handcuffs and attached the chain to his wrist. He walked over to Yami and Yuugi, pulling off their gags, before crossing the room. Before he opened the door, he turned.

"The room is soundproof, so don't bother yelling."

He looked back at Malik, who was staring at him, a look of shock and horror on his tanned features.

"See ya soon"

He winked, before turning and opening the door. Then he was gone, the door shut behind him, and the room was silent.

Malik said nothing, he simply stared blankly at the floor, his expression simply disbelieving.

"Malik?"

Yuugi had spoken, Yami turned back to see his Aibou's large eyes gazing intently at Malik, filled with concern.

"Malik, are you ok? Are you hurt?"

Yami's mind finally caught on to the realisation that he could speak again. But he felt torn, not knowing which way to turn, and who to speak to, Yuugi was his highest priority, but he had been with Malik the most through all this, and the Egyptian had just been given a far worse sentence than any of the others. He felt frustration setting in, he could speak at last but he was still chained up, still restrained. He hated being constricted, but it was more than that, they needed physical reassurance, not just verbal comfort.

"Malik, please say something"

Malik finally moved his head, turning to look at his two fellow captives. He remained silent, simply staring, before suddenly bursting into tears. His head dropped into his hands as he sobbed uncontrollably.

Yami glanced back at Yuugi briefly, whose eyes were also full of tears as he watched Malik, before turning back.

"Malik, it's ok, please, calm down, it'll be fine, I promise, I won't let this happen again...please"

Malik raised his head, tears streaming down his face, his eyes gazing into Yami's.

"It...i-it hurt...it hurt so much...I didn't do any-anything...I just laid there...and it hurt...I couldn't even scream. Fuck...fuck, he raped me...r-raped me..."

Yami could feel his own shield cracking. He had shed tears during it, tears of pain, but he'd avoided any real response to his ordeal, he had built a wall against it, but now, alone with Yuugi and Malik, looking into his friend's tortured eyes, hearing his anguish; he could not contain his misery much longer.

"I know...we all were....it....it's not the end, Malik...we can get through...if we try"

"We can't! We're done...we all got raped...and it'll happen again...he's gonna rape me..a-and...and it'll happen over and over...oh god...it's going to hurt so much...he's going to rape me over and over...over and over...."

"It will be ok...it will be...I promise..."

He had to do it, he had to save them. Yami could see Malik breaking right in front of him. If he broke completely, he would never recover, he'd be destroyed permanently. Yami had to get them out of this before that happened. He needed to protect them this time.

He heard a noise behind him, and turned. Yuugi was covering his face with one hand, quietly sobbing.

"Aibou..."

He had been raped. It stood starkly at last, in complete clarity. He had been raped, and it would happen again. He could do nothing to stop it. He could not avoid the thought any longer, he couldn't just not acknowledge the ordeal, it had happened, and not just to him.

Tears began to run down Yami's face, as he remembered the vast, intense pain he had felt during it, accented with the dull, numbing pain he felt in his backside even now.

_Ten seconds_.

He would allow himself to wallow for ten seconds, no less, no more.

One...two...three...

He had never felt anything as blindingly excruciating as it, not in all his years.

...four...five...six...

He had done nothing to defend himself, merely lain there pathetically, and taken it.

...seven...eight...nine...

It would happen again, as Malik had said, it would never end.

...ten...

He shut his eyes. It would end, he had made a vow, and he would keep it, no matter what. He would get them out of this. He reach up and wiped away his tears; he had to be strong, and withstand anything thrown at him.

He looked back and forth between the two boys, both still crying.

"Aibou...Malik..."

If it cost him his life and his soul, he would not let this happen again, he would save them, and take revenge for them, all of them.

"It's going to be ok, I promise"

Unfortunately, he knew deep down that it was going to get a lot worse before there was any remote chance of things turning out ok. His eyes settled on Malik. The threat made to him by Blain was clearly very real, he needed to find some way of protecting his friend from this new hazard, as a priority. He was the reason Malik was here, he had a debt to him.

He looked back at his Aibou, who had stopped crying, and now simply sat, awkwardly tilted to one side, with his face buried in his crossed arms. If only he wasn't chained up, even a hug would help so much.

_Just wait Aibou, I'll save you, I promise_.

He curled up on the mattress, feeling sleep take him before long, waiting for the inevitable creak of the door opening again, bringing more pain.

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**A/N:**

**Sorry for the much shorter chapter length, it's more a transitional chapter, so there's not as much to tell. Also I know it's probably not realistic for Yami to have had his nightmare, since he was unconscious rather than asleep, but I just love giving my characters mindfucks :p. Some graphic stuff coming for the next few chapters, as well, just as a warning.**

**I'm back to college soon, so I'm hoping to get a rough schedule for updates, maybe about one per week or so.**

**As always, any errors you see that I missed please point them out,and thanks for reading.**


	7. Chapter Seven

Morning.

Higuchi sat at his desk as always; he had not moved all night. The room was completely silent, not even his computer was on to emit it's low hum. Hunched over his desk, leaning on his elbows with his face cradled in his hands, Higuchi thought. He had been thinking all night, unable to sleep until this problem was sorted. It had been a mere eight days, but every single one of those days, the news said the same thing, almost mocking him, flaunting it's knowledge of his predicament.

"A large, dedicated search party has been organised, and police believe they may have found evidence to the circumstances of the group's disappearance, though they has not disclosed any further details. No comment has been made by the representatives of Kaiba Corporation over this new development, at this time."

This had been the broadcast last night, now they were officially looking for Seto Kaiba, and by extension, the group. And what was this new evidence? Fingerprints? Surely not, his men always wore protection, and they were careful to leave nothing behind. In any case, this was quickly turning into a disaster. He was still confident they would have no way to trace Kaiba's disappearance to them, but still, all this attention was dangerous.

As soon as Kaiba's people had realised he was missing, they had reported it, and because of his whereabouts at the time of his disappearance, the police were now looking extensively for the entire group. This was not the way it was supposed to be, his men's oversight was threatening to expose everything.

What if the police made the connection between this group of disappearances and the other groups they'd abducted from around the country over the last number of years?

The main problem was that there was no solution. Kaiba couldn't be just released, not only did they now know about the others, but Kaiba wouldn't rest until he'd found his brother, leaving them in an even worse situation than the current one. Killing Kaiba would make no difference, they would continue to look for him and the others. No, keeping him where he was and working to make sure the police never got even close to their trail was the best option. It wasn't a solution, but if they could avoid them for enough time, they might give up on finding Kaiba. A long shot, but it was all he could do. He needed to protect his business, his clients, his bosses, and most of all, himself.

Higuchi lifted his head up, his eyes travelling, as an almost second nature now, over to the photos arranged in an array at the side of his desk, of the eight boys. This business could wait twenty four hours, today he was taking what was rightfully his at last.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Yami felt himself drifting out of sleep, while his eyelids glowed red from sunlight. For the first time in a week, he was not sitting on rough concrete, his hands were not hung above him with wire, and he had clothes. But the bleak grip of steel around his right wrist shattered any hope given by his dreams; he was still here. He was in a different place now, but "here" had not changed, he was still in a prison, awaiting further punishment he had not earned.

He opened his eyes, taking in the bright, cheerful sunshine, a sharp contrast to their situation, almost scornful. Yami was strong, a Pharaoh, the leader of a nation once. Yet here he was, leashed to a wall pathetically. He could not even help himself, how was he supposed to help his friends? With this, he looked over to his left.

Yuugi was curled into a ball, still asleep, however, he was anything but peaceful. He looked horribly dejected, even resigned. It had only been a week, what would he be like after a month? A year? There would be nothing of his Aibou left, just an empty shell. Yami had to get him out of here, it was his duty.

"Yami?"

He spun around, and saw Malik sitting up, staring glumly at him. Yami said nothing, simply nodding. He really didn't know what to say at the moment.

"He picked me pretty good. Higuchi"

Malik's shoulders were slumped, he seemed to droop right before Yami's eyes.

"I don't understand what you-"

"I'm a virgin, like he wanted...I was. I've never been with anyone, I was always too focused on revenge, for years...I've never even kissed anyone before. Guess now I have. Got to go the whole way. Maybe I should thank him."

He shifted, holding a hand to his backside, where there was a dry bloodstain on the white cloth.

"I...used to think about it. In some quiet moments...most of the time I was working on building up the Ghouls, and looking for revenge in all the wrong places. But sometimes I got some alone time, and sometimes I thought about what it'd be like to be with someone. Man or woman, it didn't matter, I just wondered how nice it would be to let go and have someone take care of me, without having to worry...for once. Just lay back and feel someone love you. Now I've...I've got nothing left of that. It's gone, forever."

His fingers seemed to test his entrance through the cloth, perhaps seeing if it still hurt. Clearly, it did, because he winced slowly.

"Can't believe they call it "making love" in movies, there wasn't any love in that, it just...hurt Hurt...so much..."

Tears slid silently down his cheeks, and he fell back lightly against the wall. His eyes dropped down to the ground, and he said no more.

Yami remained silent also, unsure of what to say to such words. He knew he couldn't quite understand what Malik was going through, having his first intimate contact with a human be a disgusting rape. Yami had been Pharaoh, thus he of course was far from a virgin, almost by rule, but while he could never understand fully what Malik felt at this moment, simply from circumstance, he could at least sympathize with him.

He had no idea how long it would be before Blain returned, expecting to have his way with Malik, but he knew it couldn't be more than a few days. He had to do something soon, anything.

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud click, the door had been unlocked. It swung open, and in walked Higuchi, alone for once. Yami so desperately wished to be unchained, if only for a moment, just so he could run across the room and strangle the man before him.

"Morning, boys, you ought to be honoured, you're the first group I've visited today."

"Where are the others?"

Yami was not gagged anymore, and with no extra thugs to intimidate him into silence, he would not let Higuchi play his games this time.

"Right beside you, their rooms are pretty much identical to yours. I'm on my way to them next after a-"

"What do you want from us? Why are we here? It's about time you gave us some straight answers!"

"What I want...is for you to not try to pretend you're in charge. You may feel buoyed up because I'm alone, but make no mistake, I won't hesitate to punish you just the same as my men would, unless you show me the proper respect"

"Go ahead then. I'm not afraid of you"

This was ultimately true, while Yami did fear what Higuchi represented, and what he brought with him, he did not fear the man himself. All he had seen was a coward, indulging his fetishes only when backed up by far stronger people. He had no true reason to be frightened by him.

"I see. I would have thought the business yesterday might have quietened you down, but it seems you're as badly behaved as ever"

"It takes more than that to break me, you and all those people yesterday, you're nothing more than filth, lower than scum"

Higuchi moved suddenly, crossing the room swiftly, reaching into a back pocket as he walked. He halted a few feet from Yami, and withdrew a short, thin object. It seemed to be a handle of some sort.

With the click of a button, a long, shining blade shot out of one end, and Yami realised it was a switchblade.

"You think I'm just some old man, who never gets his hands dirty, and lets his men do all the work? I think I ought to dispel that notion"

Yami braced himself, ready for the inevitable retribution. It would be worth any pain to have shown Higuchi he was not going down quietly, that he would not be a slave.

To his surprise, and horror, Higuchi did not advance on him, but turned and marched over to Yuugi, who was awake, watching the whole exchange with concerned eyes. His unease quickly turned to terror as Higuchi reached him. He seized Yuugi's free hand, and pulled it up, closer to him, leaving Yuugi unable to get free.

"Aibou! Let go of him!"

"Stop! Leave him alone!"

Malik had spoken again, at last, his eyes not heavy with sadness, but alive with anger and outrage.

Higuchi paid no heed to either of them them, and lowered the blade to Yuugi's palm, pausing just above the skin.

"When I tell you to do something, you do it. When you speak to me, you will be respectful. When I tell you to shut up, you shut up."

"Let him go, now!

"Shut up"

"Let go now, you bastard!"

"Shut up"

"Let go of him, right fucking now!"

"The more you shout, the further this goes in"

And with that, he stabbed the blade through Yuugi's skin, into the centre of his palm. The boy screamed in agony as the steel was forced into his hand.

"AIBOU!"

"I told you to shut up! Further again"

He drove the blade deeper into Yuugi's palm, it was now almost halfway down the knife, and the tip of the knife had emerged from the back of Yuugi's hand. Blood was streaming out, dripping onto the floor rapidly. Yuugi continued to scream.

Yami clamped his mouth shut, struggling to stop himself from shouting more. He shook with rage, his Aibou's cries echoing around him.

Higuchi paused, apparently waiting to see if Yami would respond verbally again, then yanked the blade out of Yuugi's palm, and dropped him back to the floor. Yuugi fell in a heap, clutching his bleeding hand, sobbing heavily.

"If you speak out of turn again, I'll do the same to his other hand, and then I'll do the same to your blonde friend over there. Whatever you might have thought of me before, forget it now, because I'm telling you now, you will respect me, starting from this moment."

_I will kill you for that, Higuchi_.

The thought was deadly serious, indeed, it was almost a vow.

"Shortly, you're going to be taken out of here by my men. You'll be fed, but more importantly, you'll be cleaned. Same as last time, you'll have a thorough bath. By late afternoon, you ought to be ready. You want some straight answers? I'll give you some. You are here to make me money. This is my business, I take groups like you as my property, and I let clients pay me a great deal of money to have some time alone with this property, to do what they like with. I would have thought you'd have figured that out by now."

Yami's heart fell, he had indeed been thinking this was why they were here, though he'd done his best not to. Confirmation, however, made it leap to the forefront of his mind, no longer able to be pushed aside.

"I run this three nights a week, so I suggest you get used to being screwed, it'll be happening to you a lot. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, that's your schedule. It's Tuesday today, so you're off duty, however, I'm not having you lying around doing nothing. So this evening, I'll be personally taking each of you back to my room, You've been mine for over a week now, it's time I enjoyed it."

He turned to Yuugi briefly.

"I'll have someone treat your hand when you're being cleaned up. I wouldn't want you bleeding all over my sheets, at least not more than necessary."

And with that, he turned and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Yami was numb for a moment, simply staring at the closed door in shock. Quickly he snapped back to reality, and spun to his left.

"Aibou! Are you alright?"

Yuugi sat, cradling his still bleeding hand, weeping quietly. Yami crawled as close as he could, pulling the chain taut, but was still several feet from him. Even if Yuugi came as close as his own chain allowed, they wouldn't be able to touch.

"Aibou?"

Yuugi looked up at him, his eyes almost imploring Yami to help. Yami was shocked at the depth of the sadness in his Aibou's violet eyes, normally so bright and full of life. That light had disappeared, replaced only with grim despair.

"....I want to go home"

Yami could only stare back, his mouth slightly open, unable to answer. Yuugi gazed at him a moment longer, before his eyes fell, and he dropped back against the wall, holding his injured hand tightly. The fact that he still held his wounds shut, that he was stopping himself from bleeding, proved one thing; he may have lost the light in his eyes, but he still wanted to live. That was enough for Yami.

"I...I-I know..."

Yami voice was shaking, he halted, trying to steady himself. _Be stronger_. He couldn't be weak in front of Yuugi and Malik, he had to show them he was still able to fight.

"I....I know you do, Aibou...we all do. We'll be going home soon, I promise, we'll get away from this."

Yuugi said nothing. Yami felt an odd prickling on the back of his neck, something usually meant someone was watching him. He turned around quickly, finding Malik staring at him, wearing a curious, unreadable expression. Almost as soon as he had turned, Malik looked away, seeming embarrassed.

Yami was about to ask what was wrong, but suddenly the door opened once again. Several men entered, as Higuchi had said. One wrapped a cloth around Yuugi's hand, before they released the three boys from their chains, and lead them out of the room.

Half an hour later, they found themselves in a huge, opulent bathroom. They had been fed (plain bread and water again), been allowed to use the toilets (the first time in a week they had needed to, finally having food in them again), and were now immersed in a warm, soothing bath. They had been instructed to perform the same tasks they had in the bath back in the warehouse, though mercifully they were allowed to do it themselves, and not to each other. There had been no sign of any of the others.

They were told by the men to be especially thorough in cleaning their back entrances, which were still horribly sore, and torn. Yami had never felt quite so disgusting, having to scrub clotted, dry blood off from the area, all the time knowing it would be freshly torn up that evening. With a dull pang, he remembered tomorrow was Wednesday, which meant it would b freshly torn open tomorrow night as well. And Higuchi was likely to do the same to them Thursday, and then Friday they would be "loaned" out once more. When would it all end?

By the late afternoon, they had been fully "prepared", and were returned to their rooms. Not once had they seen any of the others. Yami felt his worry over their absence growing rapidly. He knew it was likely they had simply been put through the same treatment, just in a different part of the building, but he could not help but think the worst. Blain had promised to personally torment Malik further, what if he or another of Higuchi's men had made a similar threat to one of the others? How could he hope to try and protect one of them in that case? He already had no idea how to protect Malik, a mere few feet from him.

Dark thoughts of the others tortured by one of these men crowded his mind as the minutes ticked away. All three were silent, lying despondently against the wall. Yuugi's hand had been properly cleaned by the men, and the wound was now concealed under a thick white bandage wrapped around his hand in a band. Yami felt simply useless, he had failed to protect them once already, and now, another assault was imminent, and he could do nothing to stop it.

Yami watched the shadow from the window bars move across the floor gradually, the light around it slowly changing to orange. The trepidation over what was coming later that day was beginning to build up. He thought once again, of his choice to stay, a few months ago. If he hadn't stayed, he was sure this wouldn't have happened. For one, Malik wouldn't be here, he would be with his family in Egypt. And they would not have needed to meet up, and fall into that trap, because the subjects they were discussing wouldn't exist. Mokuba had only been there for that meeting, he wouldn't have been taken, and his Aibou and the others wouldn't have been gathered in so confined a space, they would no doubt have evaded being abducted. It was selfish of him to have stayed, he should have left this world, and avoided all this happening to his friends.

But suddenly, he had a different thought, even if it was selfish to stay, surely now, in light of certain recent events, it was selfish to wish he hadn't stayed, also? If he hadn't stayed, Bakura would have not been returned to life either. Did he have any right to dictate, simply out of his own guilt, that Ryou should not have his companion? No, it wasn't right to wish that.

_It's not use thinking about all this, just drop it_. Sitting there, blaming himself, would accomplish nothing, he had to do something to fix this. He just wished he knew what that was. Even when he was let out of this room, he knew he would always be surrounded by men, and when left with these clients, he guessed he would probably be tied up, incapable of doing anything. There seemed to be no window of opportunity.

All he could do now was keep his sprit up, and attempt to do the same for the others.

Looking to his right, he realized something about the distances, even if he and Yuugi came as close as they could o each other, they were still almost a foot out of reach. But Malik was taller, and even the slightest bit of friendly contact would surely help immensely...

He crawled over suddenly, making both the others look up at the abrupt commotion. He reached out his hand towards Malik, who looked at it for a moment, before understanding. He slid off the mattress, as close as he could. Yami closed his fingers around the tanned hand. Malik's silken skin was cold, and Yami clutched the hand tightly, hoping to warm it. Malik's eyes had the same strange expression in them Yami had caught a glimpse of earlier, and were fixed intently on their interlocked hands.

"You're going to be ok, we'll get through this"

Yami whispered the words, very much meaning them. He still believed they could get out of this, that hope was what drove him. Malik finally removed his eyes from their hands, raising them to meet Yami's. He gave a faint smile, to Yami's relief. A few more moments passed, before they let go and returned back to their mattresses. Yami turned around, to face Yuugi.

"I love you, Aibou."

Nothing more needed to be said. Yuugi nodded, weakly smiling.

As if on cue, the door opened, and the men returned again, walking purposely towards Yami. It seemed it was his turn first. They released him from the chain, but immediately twisted his arms around behind his back, and placed handcuffs on him. As he was marched from the room, Yami attempted to look around at the other two, but found his view blocked. Before he knew it, he was out of the room, the door closed behind them, truly alone for the first time since they had been taken. The men around him were not people at all, just faceless drones, devoid of any real humanity. He was on his own walking down the corridor.

Yami kept his eyes on the richly woven carpet they walked on, trying to fruitlessly cast his mind elsewhere. The other night, when they had been raped, it had seemed more of a shock. They had not known what was going to happen, it had simply hit them like a freight train. This time, he knew what he was walking towards. He could not decide which was worse, this slow build up of dread, or the sudden blow. Regardless, he knew this would be his lowest point yet. He would be completely alone, and there would be no time limit, as other night had, Higuchi could take all the time he wanted, degrading Yami as deeply as he wished.

Perhaps it was better this way; the longer he took with Yami, the less time he would have for any of the others, assuming Yami was the first he took tonight. But then, what was that really accomplishing? It would merely be a delay. Tomorrow they would all be ravaged again, and the next day, Higuchi could simply select any he might have missed. It was inevitable, no matter what he did.

He could not simply "stave off" the advances of the men here, the only way to help the others was to get them out of here. Realising he was wasting an opportunity, Yami tore his eyes off the floor, looking around carefully at his surroundings.

Their three rooms were situated at the very end of an immensely long corridor, lined with dozens of doors. The bathroom and place they had been brought to eat were rooms almost beside theirs. In the centre of the corridor, it widened out into a balcony of sorts, overlooking what seemed to be the main hall and staircase, which came all the way up to this, the third floor. They passed this open area, moving to the similarly door lined corridor on the other side. It appeared Higuchi's room was at the very opposite end of the floor. Yami committed as much as he could of the layout to memory, knowing he would need as much information about this place as he could acquire, if he wanted to get the others out.

The march stopped suddenly, they had reached the last door. It was far more elaborate than the others, featuring intricate carvings on it's polished oak surface, while the door frame more resembled a sculpted stone archway than anything else. One of the men knocked on the door sharply, the thud of knuckle on wood sounding to Yami like a judge's gavel striking it's block.

Within a few all too fast seconds, the door opened, revealing Higuchi, who, smiling broadly, stepped aside, making way for the men to drag Yami inside.

The room was huge and rectangular, filled with impressive, elaborately framed paintings, imposing statues and figures, and gleaming, highly polished hardwood furniture. The carpet was thick and plush, a dark red, complimenting the panelled walls. Despite the many works of art, and other such distractions, however, Yami's eyes were drawn only to one thing.

In the centre of the right wall rested a luxuriously carved four poster bed, king size. The men wasted no time in leading Yami over to it. To his repulsion, they stripped away his clothing, before shoving him face down on the bed.

Yami gave no reaction, he merely lay there. He did not expect Higuchi to be like the man who had won Yami's auction; that man had been there only for the sadistic wish of causing pain to someone. He supposed Higuchi was unlikely to be as brutal, and more interested in Yami's body then in causing him pain. At this point, he didn't think Higuchi gave any thought whatsoever to whether he was causing pain to people.

A brief thought that if he were left alone with Higuchi he might somehow get free passed through his mind. Despite his intention to not react to anything that was done to him, as he had done the previous time, he could not stop the inner feelings of rage coursing through him. This man had, mere hours before, put a knife through the hand of his Aibou. He wouldn't hesitate to exact revenge for that, and everything else, for even a second.

However, his thought of possible revenge was soon demolished. Higuchi had little intention of doing his business alone. He turned a small dial on the wall beside the bed, which slowly turned on lights in the "ceiling" of the four poster bed, on a dim setting. He then closed the curtains around the bed, blocking it's contents from view, but far from separating them from the two men that remained in the room, standing idly by the door. Any hope of resisting was gone now.

Yami lay there still, closing his eyes. If this was to become a regular occurrence for the time being, he would need to find some way to block it out of his head. He couldn't survive much longer if this happened daily, and he gave it his attention. He could hear Higuchi conversing quietly with the two men. The feeling of dread that had been plaguing him since that morning seemed to be almost bubbling up inside him, rising like a vast wave. The voices had stopped, and now he could hear Higuchi walking back to the bed.

Each light footstep on the soft carpet multiplied his anxiety, he had to be strong, and not show any kind of reaction, but this feeling had been building up the entire day, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to ignore it or silence it.

The curtains parted, a heavy weight descended onto the bed. Yami was still nonetheless. He had to be.

He felt the greedy hands move over his body, leaving a sense of filth behind on each bit of skin they touched. He had never quite realised how unpleasant touch could be.

He thought of the feeling he received when he had resided in the Millennium Puzzle, when he "switched" with Yuugi. Whenever he had returned to the Puzzle, and Yuugi re-emerged, it was a strange sense of detachment, like he had fallen backwards out of his body. The feeling was still fresh in his mind even though it had been months since he had last experienced it.

Even as the fear reached it's crescent, he felt himself let go. He could still feel the groping fingers, but he was simply not there, managing to remain motionless and completely unresponsive. He could nearly sense the same odd impression of "falling out" of his body.

But although he knew he would be able to keep this up, another realization came to him. While he could withstand this abuse and molestation himself, the idea of his friends undergoing the same thing, possibly even in front of him, truly terrified him. In a sense, he had not won, he had simply delayed the effect.

Higuchi ultimately spared nothing, exploring every part of Yami's body, before finally spreading the former Pharaoh's legs apart, and taking him swiftly. Yami still had to bite down tightly, despite Higuchi using lubricant, and being far less violent than the previous man, it was still a sharp, stinging pain, that lasted for the entire duration of Higuchi's assault.

Despite his success in remaining indifferent, Yami felt little of the desparate elation he had felt when he had "defeated" his first rapist. Higuchi seemed to not care in slightest about whether Yami reacted or not, he only wanted his body. Thus his resistance hadn't effected Higuchi at all, he had gotten what he wanted. On top of that, being used as a toy in such an indifferent way, left Yami feeling incredibly unclean, and the knowledge that all of the others would be used the same way one after the other today, meant, in the end, Yami was more depressed now than he had ever been.

Forty minutes after he had been moved out of the plain white room, he found himself chained up once more. The men had deposited him, and taken Yuugi out in his place.

Yami sat, dejectedly, a dull pain in his backside, the awareness of his Aibou being molested at that exact moment the only thing he could think about. He was not even thinking of saving everyone, he could only reflect on the humiliation Yuugi was going through.

"Yami?"

The sudden break in the silence made Yami jump slightly, he turned rapidly to his right, finding Malik gazing at him.

"Don't worry, he's strong, he can take it, he'll be ok"

Wondering where this new found assurance had come from, Yami nodded, expecting his confusion to come across quite plainly. Evidently it did, for Malik gave an awkward smile, almost embarrassed, before continuing.

"I just thought, I can't mope about it, I have to keep things up, or else I'll never-"

His words were cut off suddenly, interrupted by an unexpected noise; the door had opened. Knowing it couldn't be Yuugi being returned already, Yami looked up, unsure of whom it could be. The sight was easily the least welcome thing that could possibly have appeared.

Blain.

Shutting the door behind him, he leaned to one side, his arms crossed, with a broad smirk on his face. He was looking directly at Malik.

Yami felt his heartbeat increasing rapidly, he hadn't expected Blain to return so soon. He glanced over at Malik, the sight causing his heart to skip a beat.

Malik had leapt backwards, flattening himself against the wall, already shaking terribly, his breathing fast and nearly hysterical. He was utterly terrified, his eyes wide with panic.

"Miss me?"

He took several steps towards Malik, who pushed himself harder against the wall, desperately wanting to get away.

"Turns out I've got some important info for the boss, that has to be shown in person, had to get here right away. Wasn't scheduled to be back here til the weekend, lucky, eh?"

"Don't you take one step closer to him!"

Yami would not stand for this man threatening Malik, chained or not. Blain looked at Yami for a moment, before suddenly moving swiftly across the room towards him. Yami attempted to move himself back, but got no more than a foot before Blain was in front of him. He reached out a large, strong hand and seized Yami around the throat. He pulled Yami up, as close to his face as he could.

"Did I ask you to say something, bitch? No? Then shut up, before I tear your tongue out"

He dropped Yami back down, before turning again to Malik. Yami coughed hoarsely, holding his throat. He looked up, still coughing, and saw Malik attempting still to retreat as far as he could from Blain, but also looking at Yami with concern. Before he could say anything, however, his attention was quickly diverted to Blain once more, as the man stepped closer to him.

"The boss is doing his rounds at the moment, I know, but he doesn't take long with people, and you're up next. It's only evening, we've got a nice, long night ahead. He'll be done by then, and he'll assume you're tucked up nice and good here. Sounds like an opportunity to start teaching you those manners I was talking about, don't it?"

Abruptly, he moved away from Malik, walking slowly towards the door.

"The boss isn't too rough, from what I know, you're gonna have an easy time of it with him, but me, I like it the real fucking way, hard and fast."

He halted just beside the door, before reaching over and tapping the wall with the back of his knuckles.

"Soundproof, eh? I'd say you can make all the noise you like."

He opened the door, giving one more look around at Malik, before winking.

"See ya tonight"

And then he was gone, the door snapped shut behind him, filling the room with silence.

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**A/N:  
**

**Up until now we've pretty much seen everything from Yami's point of view, except for a couple of scenes with Higuchi, but starting the next chapter we'll be seeing a few other viewpoints, since there's a lot of characters spread around the place.**

**Malik's odd rambling about his first time is the start of something big for his character, also, we'll see how exactly it affected him over the next few chapters.**

**Hopefully I can keep updates weekly from now on.**

**Feel free to concrit, writing can always be improved, and I'd like to hear if anyone feels there's noticeable flaws in mine. Thanks for reading.**


	8. Chapter Eight

"Please...please...don't..."

"Whine all you like, it's happening, kid"

"Please...I'm begging y-you...ple-"

Malik was cut off abruptly as Blain grabbed him by the back of the neck and shoulder, spinning him around and slamming him face first against the wall. He moved forward, pressing himself up against the trembling Egyptian.

"Shut up already, you two, or you're getting it as well"

Yami continued to try and shout through his gag, unable to do anything more than gurgle, much to his absolute fury. A number of hours after Yuugi had been returned, and Malik had gone and come back, Blain had made good on his promise. He'd entered, and locked the door from the inside, then gagged both Yuugi and Yami, and handcuffed their hands behind their back, before advancing on Malik. He had released the boy from his chain, and dragged him to his feet, callously ignoring the pleas for mercy.

Now pinned against the wall, Malik was struggling as best as he could, but it was in vain, Blain was simply too strong. The thug was rubbing his hand down Malik's back, the smile on his face resembling more an obnoxious leer. He pulled the robe open, exposing Malik's scarred back, the sight causing his smile to widen even further.

"Where'd you get these?"

He seemed fascinated by the design. Yami got the feeling that Blain found the idea of Malik having been mutilated so badly alluring rather than horrifying, much to his own disgust.

"Well?"

Malik said nothing, he had ceased his pleading for the moment, and had shut his eyes and mouth tightly, seeming determined to block out the man holding him against the wall. Blain seized Malik by the hair, and jerked his head back, until his face was almost pointing straight up. He lowered his own visage down, level with Malik's.

"I asked you a question. Where did you get the carving on your back?"

Tears had begun to slowly leak from Malik's lavender eyes. Blain tightened his grip, pulling his head even further back.

"Tell me, I want to know who to thank for it."

"My...m-my father...he did it w-when I was ten..."

Malik choked out the words, each syllable seemed to cause him terrible pain, as his body shuddered violently.

"Really? That sounds like a nice father son outing, doesn't it?"

He released Malik's head, and ran his fingers across the scars.

"Carved in with a knife , and by the looks of it, a red hot one at that, I reckon. Am I right? Eh? What did he do after he sliced you up? Hmm?"

He pressed himself up against Malik tightly, and his hand slid down Malik's back, before grabbing his behind. The probing fingers seemed to emphasize his ugly words, giving them terrible power..

"Where you lying when you said you were a virgin, eh? After he cut you open, did your daddy bend you over?"

He leaned over the Egyptian, his gleeful face coming to rest over the boy's trembling shoulder, leaving his face right alongside Malik's. He was clearly loving the effect he was having on his victim, who was sobbing fully now, tears flowing from his clenched eyes in thin streams.

"Well? Did he fuck you? Huh? Did he fuck his little bit-"

Malik kicked his right leg up backwards, the foot striking Blain directly between the legs. The thug simply let out a surprised "Ah!", before releasing Malik and doubling over, clutching his injured parts.

Yami had been attempting to shout all through this, but at the sight of Malik fighting back recklessly , he nearly screamed through his gag, both from jubilation and fear for what reprisal there would undoubtedly be.

Malik spun around, and tried to run desperately past Blain, but the brute recovered quickly enough to grab Malik by the hair and shoulder, and fling him to the ground. He struck the floor with tremendous force, clearly having the wind driven out of him as his eyes shot wide open, and his mouth opened while, gasping for air. Blain dropped to his knees with a dull thud and wrapped both hands around the boy's throat, before jerking his head up closer. His face was contorted with both pain and rage, the skin having turned an ugly, blotched red.

"You little fucking shit! I ought to break your fucking neck!"

Yami let out as a loud a noise as he possibly could, while yanking at the chain recklessly, attempting to get closer, and he could hear Yuugi doing the same thing behind him. To his surprise, Blain reacted, looking up, his furious eyes boring into Yami's. His surprise quickly turned to panic, as Blain released Malik's throat and rose up to his feet rapidly, looking truly insane with fury.

"I told you to SHUT UP!"

He moved swiftly toward Yami, raising his left foot as he did. Yami was in too much sudden shock to react in time, and the boot thrust forward, connecting swiftly with his forehead, snapping his head back. Yami crumpled, feeling his mind immediately warp and his vision going out of focus. He heard Blain continue on past him, and Yami guessed from the loud crack that followed, he had just struck Yuugi deftly with his hand.

The haze began to clear, and he could see again, though his head still felt unsettled, and his movements were almost slurred. He saw Malik still on the ground in front of him, clutching his neck, while coughing and spluttering. Blain stumbled back over, breathing heavily. He bent over again, holding his hands between his legs, obviously feeling the aftershock of Malik's kick. The momentary "fire" of his anger seemed to have disappeared; while he still looked enraged, he had also visibly regained his senses.

After a few moments, he straightened up once more, and stepped forward, standing over Malik, like a victorious predator.

"You ever, ever do something like that again, I'll kill you, and your two friends. Got it?"

Reaching down, he seized the still coughing Malik by the sides of his head.

"Got it?"

Without waiting for an answer, he hauled Malik up, onto his knees. He ruthlessly tore the remainder of Malik's clothing off, leaving him naked within mere seconds. He bent the boy's thin arms around behind his back, before reaching into his back pocket, and withdrawing handcuffs. Blain quickly locked Malik's hands in place, leaving the teen completely defenceless, kneeling before him.

"You're gonna pay me back for that."

He grabbed Malik's face in one hand, forcing his mouth open, and began to undo his pants with the other. Malik attempted to scramble away, but his position made it impossible. Tears flowed freely down his cheeks, as he struggled uselessly. Both Yami and Yuugi could do nothing but watch in silent horror, as Blain dropped his jeans to the floor, and then shoved the full length of his member roughly into Malik's unwilling mouth.

Yami shut his eyes, not wishing to see such humiliation forced on his friend, but he could not block out the repulsive sounds of Malik gagging and choking on the foreign object, a terrible frenzy of muffled retching and weeping combined into one.

Within the strangled cries Yami could hear a plea for help, but he could not answer it, pathetically leashed as he was. For all his mental vows of vengeance and rescue, he could do nothing.

After what seemed to be an age, he heard the sounds cease, and something drop to the floor. He opened his eyes to find Malik sprawled on the floor, sobbing frantically. Blain sneered down at him with a self satisfied smirk on his brutish features.

"Not a bad suck, kid, you make a good whore"

"P-please...leave it there...don't do anything else...please"

Malik stared up at Blain, his eyes wide and pleading desperately. Blain gazed back down, his expression scornful and mocking.

"Are you trying to give me orders?"

"No, n-no, I'm not, I'm-"

"I'd say that sounded like an order. You're not giving them here, boy, I'm taking what I want, and what I want, is a piece of that ass"

He dropped to his knees once again, and pinned Malik down, pressing his face into the floor. Keeping one hand on the back of Malik's neck, he forced the boy's legs apart with his own, while sliding his other hand over Malik's unprotected rear.

"The boss always says to you how you all belong to him, right? Well, you're a special case, you're not his property, you're mine, and this ought to prove that to ya"

"No...no no stop...stop please...PLEASE...."

"Bawl away, kid, nothing's gonna help you, you're taking it"

"Please! Don't...don't....stop...p-please please st-AAAHHH!"

Malik screamed out loud, as Blain thrust violently into him, sparing nothing, entering fully without any remorse, or care. Malik shrieked at the top of his lungs, an inhuman howl of pain that echoed throughout the room, reverberating right through Yami's mind.

He could not tear his eyes from the abhorrent sight. Malik wailed endlessly, as Blain drove into him with no mercy, over and over. Blood was already beginning to pool on the floor beneath them, a small patch of crimson that shuddered continuously from the forces exerted above it.

He wrenched his eyes away, unable to watch the disgusting act any longer, but incapable of blocking out the harrowing screams of his friend. Turning around fully, trying to get as far as he could from the vile display, he saw Yuugi, who was crouched down, covering his ears with his hands, while endless tears dropped from his tightly shut eyes.

"PLEASE, STOP...STOOOOP!"

"You love it really, little whore, little fucking whore!"

"STOP...please..._please_...st....stop..."

Malik ceased his screeches, seeming to run out of energy. He could only weep, his face twisted in agony as his body was thrown forward again and again, pounded into the ground ruthlessly.

Blain showed no signs of stopping, continuing on and on without tiring in the slightest. He was almost laughing as he continued, apparently finding Malik's pitiable reaction hilarious. The Egyptian could only whimper by now, his body too exhausted to scream.

Finally, after an unbearable amount of time, he came inside of Malik with a grunt, and pulled out promptly. He picked up a piece of Malik's clothing and used it to wipe off the coating of blood on his member, before sliding his jeans back up, and zipping them shut. He grabbed up the remainder of the white cloth, and dropped it over Malik contemptuously.

"You're a good fuck, that's for sure. I'm really gonna love Saturdays, aren't you?"

Not waiting for any reply, he bent down to release the handcuffs on Malik's wrists, before reattaching the chain on the wall to his right arm. He crossed the room to Yuugi, and removed both the gag and cuffs. Yuugi did nothing, clearly afraid of provoking an attack, but Yami found himself incapable of containing his rage. As soon as Blain unlocked his cuffs, and removed his gag, he swung a clenched fist at Blain's face, desperate to do even a minute amount of damage to the depraved thug. However, Blain caught his punch easily, and twisted Yami's arm around, before raising his other hand, and striking his face sharply with the back of it, almost disdainfully.

"Don't be stupid"

The crack stung across Yami's face harshly, dazing him for a brief second. When he had focused again, Blain had released him and moved away, strolling towards the door almost merrily.

He turned briefly as he reached the door.

"Thanks for the magical evening"

A sneering smirk accompanied his words. He unlocked the door, and disappeared through it, without another thought.

Yami turned sadly to Malik, not knowing what to say. Malik was curled into a ball, still crying, still bleeding.

He knew he needed to do something right away, Malik shouldn't be suffering alone for any length of time, it would only send him even closer to breaking point, which there would be likely no recovery from. However, in their chains, Yami's options were most limited.

Doing the only thing he could do, Yami crawled towards the Egyptian, as close as he could.

"Malik...Malik give me your hand"

No reaction, he stayed curled up tightly.

"Malik...come here...you're not alone, let me help"

Still no response.

"Malik...please, please...come here"

The word please seemed to break through to Malik's mind, for he began to move. Perhaps it was because his own cries of 'please' had been so cruelly ignored. Slowly, he unravelled, barely moving at all. Equally gradually, he turned over, onto his other side, and gazed directly at Yami.

Purple stared into purple. Yami could barely stand looking into the sheer depth of misery currently shimmering in Malik's eyes. Yet even amongst that vast ocean, there was another expression mixed in, that same strange look he had given Yami several times that day. Something seemed to click into place, and he scrambled towards Yami, who reached out his hand, offering whatever small comfort he could.

Malik grasped Yami's hand tightly, his eyes fixed, once again, on their interlocked fingers.

"It'll be ok...it'll be ok...I promise...it'll be fine"

Yami was not sure if he fully believed this at that moment, but that was not important, keeping Malik together was what was imperative.

Malik raised his eyes up to meet Yami's once more. That strange expression still remained.

"...thank you"

------------------------------------------

The room was filled with a deathly silence, occasionally perforated by the dull drip of water from some rusted pipe, hidden away in the darkness. A chill had spread throughout the grey space, accentuating the dour atmosphere. The only light visible was a faint line along the bottom of one wall, where the door separated slightly from the floor. The white light spread itself along the ground, fading away into nothing, not even coming close to the opposite wall, where an assortment of pipes were fixed systematically. One such pipe was mere inches off the concrete, running along the wall, sending unknown material to an anonymous place.

What was intriguing about the seemingly mundane pipe was the curious object hooped around it. The object was a chain, part of a set of glinting handcuffs. Their occupant was the room sole inhabitant, who sat motionless against the drab wall, arms held behind his back by the shackles. Having been immobile for several hours, he suddenly shifted.

Seto Kaiba raised his weary head, looking around in vain, for there was a blindfold over his eyes. In addition to being unable to move or see, he could not speak either, due to the gag in his mouth. He had been sitting there for days, maybe even a week.

Kaiba let his head drop back against the wall, resisting the urge to smash it against the hard surface in frustration. He was constantly on the verge of losing it completely, simply flying into a blind rage, and yanking wildly at the cuffs binding him to the cursed pipe behind him.

_When am I going to get some answers?_

Being unable to see or speak, he only had his thoughts, and his thoughts were no comfort in such a situation. Over and over he had replayed what had happened, trying to figure out exactly what was occurring.

He had gone to Yuugi's home, with Mokuba, indeed mostly at Mokuba's insistence, for he had little time for vicious thieves like Bakura. Supposedly, they were to sort out their differences, but Kaiba sincerely doubted anything would come of it, people like Bakura did not change. Mokuba had wanted them to go, nonetheless, and so they did.

Kaiba hadn't had much desire to see many of the people involved, on top of disliking Bakura. Yuugi, he respected both as a duelist and as a person, he was a genuinely good individual, and probably the closest thing Kaiba had to a friend, even if it was quite one sided, and he had no trouble with him, but the others, he was wary of.

Yami, he respected certainly, but they were not friends, they were still rivals, though granted they weren't rivals over anything in particular these days. Jounouchi, the mediocrity, he had no time for, which was very much reciprocated, and the others, Honda, Anzu, Otogi, Jounouchi's sister and Ryou, he knew nothing about, really, nor did he have much interest in doing so, he didn't need anyone else in his life. And there was Malik, whom he had not truly made up his mind about yet. While he had caused Kaiba plenty of grief during Battle City, he had seemingly morphed into a completely different person after it had ended. Kaiba didn't believe in people changing, but he could not deny the difference in Malik's personality, from a supreme annoyance to a perfectly decent human. Still, he would rather keep his distance, as usual, there was no point in leaving himself vulnerable for no good reason.

However, despite all his reluctance, and his many excuses (though many were legitimate, he had been extremely busy at that time with Kaiba Corp), he had wound up standing in Yuugi's crowded kitchen. They'd been "debating" away, when that attack had come out of nowhere. Obviously it had been planned, no one just happens to pick the house where almost a dozen people where gathered to throw a gas bomb into. He'd tried to get rid of it, but he'd not been able to do much before succumbing to the gas, and falling into darkness.

Then he had woken up here, exactly where he still was now.

He had been frantic the first day, or night (whichever it had been, with the blindfold he couldn't tell), trying to tear his way out, but he couldn't make the pipe move even a fraction, nor could he break the handcuffs open. The idea that he had been chained up, like a lowly slave, was certainly humiliating to him, and one of the most disgraceful things he could imagine, but the real reason he so desperately wished to break free, was Mokuba.

Mokuba. He had never been separated from his little brother for so long. He had by now lost count of the days, but it must be a week by now. A week.

He felt hollow without his brother at his side, an empty, dead void. He knew he was nothing without Mokuba, after all, what else was there to live for? His company might be the thing that he spent all his time working on, but even then, he did it all for Mokuba. He did it so that he could provide for Mokuba whatever he could want, and of course, to fulfil the dream the two of them had had in the orphanage, to bring happiness to the world's children. Kaiba Lands, all over the globe, that was the ultimate goal of Kaiba Corp. And as Mokuba was his vice president, that vision was more complete than ever, with both of them working together to accomplish it.

Kaiba's dreams might have been ruthlessly stamped out by Gozaburo, but Mokuba's had remained whole and that was enough. Mokuba's dreams were his dreams now. He loved him more than anything that existed in the world.

Mokuba, with his boundless energy and enthusiasm, his unwavering support, his sharp, capable mind, his tiny stature, his strong grey eyes, his wild black hair, his tight, spellbinding hugs, his infectious laugh, his affectionate call of "Nii-Sama", and the fact that he was the only person who could make Seto Kaiba smile and laugh like a normal person, these were what he lived for. And he could see, hear, or feel none of those things now. When he found out who had pulled them apart, they would pay with their life.

Unfortunately, in his present situation, revenge was looking a long way off. After the restless first day, he had fallen asleep, unable to keep up his strength, and had awoken to find that someone had entered the room. The person had said nothing, they had simply pulled the gag out of Kaiba's mouth briefly, and poured several mouthfuls of water down his throat. By the time he'd finished coughing it down, the person had replaced the gag. They'd merely turned and walked out, their footsteps fading into the distance, before the door snapped shut once more, leaving him alone.

Ever since then, the person had come every day, at the same time, to give him water. What time that was exactly, Kaiba had no idea, but it helped to have an event to map the day around, he could feel the passing of time much easier with it.

He felt incredibly weak, the single drink of water per day did little to relieve him. No food, no movement, and the constant struggling he had exhibited in his first few days had left him slumped against the wall, useless. Most of all, it was the unknown that was weakening him. He had no idea what had happened to Mokuba, or any of the others. He didn't know if they'd been left behind, or if they were all in similar rooms to the one he now occupied, if they were in the same building, the same city, the same country, or if they were even alive. He had to know where they were, he needed to know Mokuba was alright, he couldn't stand the horrid thoughts his mind was constantly conjuring up in his dreams, he needed, _needed_ to see his little brother again.

But he'd been here at least a week, and not once had someone interacted with him, apart from the water. He had not even seen the room he had sat in all this time. There seemed to be no way to get out, his captors seemed to be perfectly content to let him sit in the darkness, alone.

However, despite his situation, he could conclude a few things about the room, and perhaps their intention with putting him in here. The fact that he was handcuffed to pipes, suggested this was some kind of utility room, and not a room specially set aside for a captive. So assuming the entire group had been taken, he had been separated, and placed in a makeshift cell, why? Kaiba didn't see them going to this much trouble to spring a trap on the group, and not have any proper holding facilities for them. A sudden thought occurred to him, that perhaps he had been separated because they'd recognized him? As the owner of one of the largest companies in Japan, he was well known, maybe they had taken him by mistake, and put him aside in a temporary place, to work out a course of action? It seemed a logical conclusion, and would explain the inconsistencies between the kidnap and the imprisonment. However, it had darker implications that quickly added to the crushing weight on Kaiba's already weary mind.

If he had not been the intended target, who was? Mokuba? What could they have done with him? Kaiba had seen enough of the underworld, to know there was no level to which it's occupants would not stoop. Frantic flashes of his little brother tortured, abused and broken flew through his mind. He could not take this overwhelming anxiety any longer. He needed to get out of here, and find Mokuba.

But he simply couldn't in his present state. He knew how he could get out, but he needed the blindfold off, he wouldn't have a chance otherwise. He also needed energy, he was too frail right now, and he would remain helpless as long as he had no food. Neither of these two things seemed to be coming any time soon, in which case he could only wait, and hope for a chance to appear. He lived for the future, not the past, thus he had to trust the future, and trust in an opening appearing. It was all he had right now, really.

Leaning back against the wall, he felt the locket around his neck fall to the side. He could not see it, and he had no way to even touch it, but the knowledge of what lay inside, was an immense comfort, managing to create a tiny hole in the thick wall of anger and apprehension, allowing some small amount of simple pleasure to break through, as he recalled the fond memory of a happy time in his life, with Mokuba.

That would keep him alive for now.

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**Happy birthday to me :p, I'm officially 19. Anyhow, it's about time Kaiba resurfaced, and I'll be returning to him plenty from now on.**

**Next chapter looks to be a long one, but hopefully it'll still be finished by next weekend.**

**As always, point out any errors, and feel free to concrit, writing can always be improved, and thanks for reading.  
**


	9. Chapter Nine

"_The police have finally released the names of the other members of the group abducted along with Seto Kaiba, and as many members of the public have rumoured, one of the victims is none other than the famous "King of Duels", Yuugi Motou. The sixteen year old is considered the most accomplished Duel Monsters player in the world, having won the recent Duelist Kingdom and Battle City tournaments, the latter of which was organised by Seto Kaiba himself._

_Also among the victims is the younger brother of Seto Kaiba, twelve year old Mokuba Kaiba. The other members of the group have been identified as friends of Yuugi Motou, as have the two teenage girls left behind in the abduction. The police have still refused to allow the press to talk to or even see the two witnesses, but maintain that they are uninjured, and are helping the investigation greatly. Stay tuned for further updates"_

With a dismissive click of the remote control, the newscast disappeared, and Higuchi rose to his feet from the couch. He didn't feel much like "staying tuned".

The public now knew the names of the boys, and for the first time, so did Higuchi himself. Not that their names mattered anymore, as he had told them himself, their previous lives were irrelevant. "The King of Duels"? He knew nothing about this Duel Monsters everyone seemed to constantly blabber on about, nor did he want to. Some silly card game was a ridiculous thing to be famous for in his opinion, and apparently world renowned no less. Total insanity.

In any case, the public knowing their names would make little difference, they couldn't help in the slightest, especially now.

He'd gotten quite lucky in the end; he had certain connections to the police department they had revealed to be assigned to the investigation, through one of his clients. It was a fortunate coincidence, one he was most grateful for. Now he could throw the police off their trail easily, leaving himself safe once more. The demand for the new group was gigantic, meaning he could up the prices to high, wonderful levels without fear of customer dissatisfaction. Things were looking up once more.

Snapping from his train of thought, he briefly glanced towards the clock, before striding to his desk. It was already late morning and there was a lot to organize; the night's clients would be there in mere hours, and he couldn't keep them waiting.

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Jounouchi was not smart. He knew this, he accepted this, and he didn't much care about it. He knew he made up for it elsewhere. However, it was now finally having an effect on him, due to his inability to think of a way out of this.

For the first time in a very long time, he found himself wishing he were intelligent, a genius even. Perhaps then, he could think of some ingenious plan to free himself and his friends. Jounouchi had often dealt with self doubt, but he had always had faith in his luck. Maybe he was receiving punishment for relying so much on luck and not enough on skill in so many situations. For his luck was certainly not holding up now, and he could only count on himself inventing a solution with his own mind, which he didn't hold much stock in. Elaborate plots were not his specialty.

But he had to do something, he couldn't take seeing the people he loved suffer like this. He'd seen them abused right before his eyes, dragged around and chained up like animals, used for sick, disgusting games, and now being forced to be some kind of sex slaves. On top of that, he still had no idea what had happened to Shizuka. He would never forgive himself if something like that auction was inflicted on her. Never. It was his duty to protect her, and after he'd failed her in the past, he'd vowed to never let anything happen to her ever again.

He glanced over to his left. Mokuba was asleep, curled tightly into a ball, shivering slightly. He reminded Jounouchi of Shizuka in a strange way. He had often felt his sister was too devoted to him, too attached. She had even refused her eye surgery as long as he was absent. Such dependence wasn't healthy, and he had felt the same vibe between Mokuba and Kaiba for a long time, indeed more than ever now. Mokuba seemed to think of nothing other than his "Nii-sama", even through the abuse he received mere hours ago from Higuchi. Though it was likely that the boy's thoughts of his brother were comforting, and helped to shield him from the sheer torture the abuse would otherwise inflict on his mind, Jounouchi couldn't help but feel Mokuba's personal wellbeing hinged far too much on Kaiba's presence. All the same, that was not really any of his business; Mokuba could work through that problem in his own time. For now, the boy needed support and comfort, more than anyone else in this place. He was far too young for these atrocities.

Beyond Mokuba, also asleep, slumped against the wall, was Otogi. He had barely said two words since they had arrived at the mansion, most of the time he simply stared blankly at the opposite wall, his expression almost melancholy. It was like he had been struck into a daze by the experience at that auction. Jounouchi supposed each would react and deal with it in their own way.

He hadn't even noticed his own reaction yet. He dropped back against the wall, staring up at the night sky, through the barred window. It had hurt tremendously, for certain, and being held down, unable to do anything to stop the perverted assault, had been truly humiliating, but he had not felt himself breaking up inside because of it. Physical pain wasn't anything new to him, he had felt more than enough in his life to be nearly numb to it by now. He only felt rage and hatred towards the bastards that had done this to his friends. Even Bakura, whom he retained a healthy dislike of, and Malik, whom he was not quite ready to forgive yet for his actions in Battle City, had his sympathies. No one deserved this.

"Jounouchi?"

The sudden break in the silence sent a brief jolt through his body, he spun his head back to the left, to find Mokuba awake.

"Mokuba? Are you alright?"

He already knew the answer, of course. One single glance at the boy's mournful eyes said all.

"Do you think Nii-sama is still alive?"

Jounouchi was taken aback by the abrupt and brutal question.

"Huh? Why d'you ask that?"

"I thought he'd have come by now, he's always come for me, when I needed help. It's been over a week, and he's not here. What if they...I-I just can't see why...w-what if they d-did it...?"

He trailed off, tears beginning to form in his grey eyes.

"No, Mokuba, absolutely not, do you think a stubborn bastard like Seto Kaiba would go down that easily? Your brother is tough, don't worry about him, Mokuba, you need to look out for yourself right now. He can take care of himself, wherever he is. Maybe they even left him behind. He's famous, they could have recognized him and thought it wasn't worth the trouble to take him. But have faith that he's ok, Mokuba, you need to keep your hopes alive more than ever, in this place"

Mokuba looked up, still on the verge of breaking down, lifting his eyes to meet Jounouchi, who held his own gaze steady, brimming with confidence. He seemed to slowly relax, much to Jounouchi's relief, and opened his mouth to speak, when suddenly there was a load click on the other side of the room.

Both turned, startled, to see the door opening, and a man stepping inside. He shut the door behind him, and slid a key below the handle, locking it, before he turned. Jounouchi recognized him immediately, the sight causing an unpleasant lurch throughout his torso.

It was Carter, one of Higuchi's two right hand men, who had almost never seemed to leave his side, and also the same pair that had abducted them in the first place. A very special surge of hatred for the man before him washed over Jounouchi as he recalled this knowledge.

He stepped casually towards the three boys, his gaze moving between them with near indifference.

"Myself and my partner have a bit of an understanding. We both take what we want of whatever group is here at the moment, when we're at the mansion, and neither of us tells on the other. It's an easy deal, plus it means we can cover each other's backs if something goes wrong. And believe me, it has in the past. Blain's not what you call gentle, from what he tells me, and he ended up doing some serious damage to one kid a few years back, needed medical treatment in the end. Certainly took a lot of careful sneaking to get out of that one, since the boss wouldn't be too happy if he knew what we were doing."

Jounouchi felt a wave of confusion flow through his mind. Why was he telling them this?

Carter seemed to read Jounouchi's mind, for he continued quickly.

"I'm telling you that so you can be thankful it's me standing in here, and not him. I think he's interested in the other blonde, your darker friend. I feel pretty sorry for him, Blain's got a bit of a grudge, and when he goes for payback, he means it. Luckily for you, though, I'm not in it for the whole "torture" thing, I'm just in it for the ass."

Jounouchi felt dumbfounded; this guy was surely not so stupid as to try something with one of them, right down the hall from his boss? This wasn't adding up.

"Course, I won't have any problem with hurting you if you try and rat me out. I'll personally kill all three of you, if it comes to that, got that much?"

"You're crazy, we're next door to your boss and you're gonna try it on with us?"

Carter smirked, looking quite pleased with himself.

"Soundproof walls, kid, no one hears nothing, no one knows nothing."

Jounouchi felt the bottom of his stomach fall away, as he realized this guy meant business, and they would be powerless to defend themselves once again. His eyes darted from Carter to his left, coming to rest on Mokuba. The boy couldn't go through that again, just hours after it had last happened.

He turned back to Carter, ready to take anything he threw at him.

"Alright then, asshole, if you want it, try me. Hell, I'm practically offering it to ya, come on and take what you want"

Carter shifted to the side, his expression bemused.

"You're pretty quick to throw yourself at me, aren't ya? Did you sell yourself for a living before we picked you up?"

His teeth clenched tightly, Jounouchi forced himself not to retort violently.

"Just come on and take it...come on!"

Carter seemed both perturbed and slightly fascinated by the display, and stepped towards Jounouchi slowly, head cocked to one side. _Good_, thought Jounouchi, as long as he left the others alone. Carter came to a halt several feet in front of Jounouchi's mattress, and crossed his arms.

"You've either got a lot of guts or a lack of brains, kid, or maybe even both. Either way, you might as well drop it, cause I'm letting you know now, you're not my type"

With that, to Jounouchi's horror, he turned to face Mokuba.

"That's more like it"

"Hey, stop, leave him alone! He's only a kid!"

"Keep yammering and I'll break your jaw"

Carter stepped swiftly to his right, stopping only when Mokuba was right at his feet, cowering against the wall, with panic and fear in his eyes.

"First time I've really got to see you up close, kid, you really are a cute one, aren't ya?"

"Hey, leave him the fuck alone! What the hell's wrong with you?"

Carter paid him no heed, instead he crouched down, drawing himself closer to Mokuba, a horrid smile splayed across his face.

"What the...what the hell!? Get away from him you sick freak!"

Otogi had awoken from the commotion, and was animated for the first time since the auction, an angry red beginning to cover his face.

"Leave him alone!"

"Get off him you bastard!"

Carter disregarded them completely, and seized Mokuba by both shoulders, before pinning him down. The boy attempted to struggle and squirm free, but to no avail.

"Stop...no....no stop, please....stop!"

Tears flowed from his frantically pleading eyes, even as Carter dropped onto him, pressing himself into the desperately thrashing boy. His hand snaked under the white clothing, over Mokuba's torso.

"STOP IT! Fucking stop it!"

"Don't...please...."

"Get off him!"

Carter lowered his face to Mokuba's, before forcing his own lips against the boy's, compelling him into a brutal, disgusting kiss, even as he slide his other hand between Mokuba's legs. Horrible, muffled screams of protest could be heard even through the crushing embrace.

"LET GO OF HIM YOU SICK FUCK!"

"GET YOUR FILTHY FUCKING HANDS OFF HIM!"

Carter pulled his face back, releasing Mokuba from the repulsive kiss, and slowly withdrew his hands out from underneath the boy's clothes. He let out a short, barking laugh as Mokuba tried to cover up his face beneath his hands, sobbing heavily. Carter climbed up, back to his feet, still seemingly on the verge of laughing.

"You're a weak little shit aren't? A bit of fumbling and one kiss and you're off like a fucking baby"

His condescending smirk returned, and he took a step back, eyes still fixed on the crying boy before him.

"You're lucky I'm not gonna fuck you tonight, I was just testing the waters. You'd best toughen up by Saturday, kid, cause if you're gonna be bawling after that, you'll probably bring down the whole mansion when I bend ya over"

"I'm gonna kill you for that, I swear"

He turned back to Jounouchi, looking slightly surprised. His almost startled face quickly reverted to it's prior sneer.

"Really? How are you gonna manage that, eh? Even without the chain, I'd break your neck before you threw a single punch, kid."

Without a further glance, he walked away, straightening his clothes as he moved.

"See ya on Saturday, kiddo"

He didn't look back once, he simply opened the door and vanished through it silently.

Jounouchi could not recall a time in his life when he had felt this much sheer fury coursing through him. He was literally shaking, his whole body shuddering from burning anger.

"Mokuba, are you ok? Are you hurt?"

Despite feeling very much like screaming every word that came from his mouth, he managed to keep his voice steady, and calm. Mokuba was lying on his side, with his knees drawn up against his chest, his body heaving with huge, trembling sobs.

"Mokuba?"

"Nii-sama...nii-sama...please...help me"

It was little more than a whisper, but Jounouchi heard it perfectly. He paused, trying to think of the way to approach such a plea.

"Mokuba...he's not here right now...I know he won't stop until he's found you, wherever he is right now...but that's probably gonna take a while...until then, I'll take care of you, I promise"

"Me too"

Otogi seemed to have gained new life from the anger brought on by Carter's abuse. He was gazing determinedly at Jounouchi, eyes full of conviction.

"We'll both take care of you while your brother is gone"

He nodded at Jounouchi, who returned it, a silent pact forming between them.

"Yeah, both of us will do our best to protect you, and keep you safe, we promise, together"

Mokuba lowered his hands from his face, turning around, looking at both of them. After a moment, he gave a tiny, grateful nod of his own, much to Jounouchi's relief, before closing his eyes, seeming to be falling back to sleep once more. None of them said anything further; there was nothing to be said really. It would be enough work just holding it together.

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Yami yearned to grow beyond the ability to ignore the hands groping him, and progress to the skill of forgetting them so thoroughly that he could not feel them at all. But until then, he would be required to force himself to disregard the fat, stubby fingers exploring his skin, as he stared into the dark red fabric an inch from his face.

It seemed like it was only an hour ago, or even less, the terrible screams he had heard as Blain had brutalized Malik mere minutes old, the same screams that had echoed through his nightmares the entire night. After that restless, disturbed sleep, they had all woken to find it was nearly afternoon, and Higuchi's men were already there to take them through the same ritual of food and water, then the thorough washing. Malik's severe bleeding had all stopped by that morning, but he had still been left a mess, something the men had paid no attention to, seeming to attribute it to their abuse the previous evening from Higuchi. Yami hated seeing him wince over and over as he cleaned himself in the bath, almost feeling every bit of stabbing pain himself, across the water. There were also slight red marks on his neck, though his tanned skin made this difficult to see. Despite these injuries, the men seemed to act as though he were in perfect health.

Yami himself had a faint bruise to the side of his forehead, where Blain had kicked him, and Yuugi had a noticeable red score on the side of his face. Yami wondered if Blain intended on giving them all similar injuries every week, and thought that someone would realise they weren't from Higuchi eventually. A pang had gone through his body at that moment, as he had realised he was now thinking about "every week" in this mansion, as though he had accepted the grim fate of staying here, in this hellish place, indefinitely.

Following the cleaning, they'd been returned to their rooms, to await each of their respective "clients" for the night. Malik had been very withdrawn, saying almost nothing, while Yami and Yuugi had been able to exchange words of comfort for the first time in several days.

The Sun had turned red on the floor, a deep, blood red, by the time two men entered the room, and left with Malik silently. The Egyptian had almost seemed to be in a trance as he was led away, staring blankly at the ground, paying no heed to his surroundings.

A few minutes later, they had come for Yami, but after they had taken the chain off his wrist, a third man had entered, motioning for them to leave him. Apparently his client had opted for a bathroom break first, delaying the ordeal for a couple of minutes. The men had left the room during this time, but had not enchained Yami once again, leaving him unbound at long last. He had immediately rushed to embrace Yuugi, as they were alone together for the first time since they had been abducted. Eventually shifting in their tight grip, they had shared a kiss of only a few brief moments, before the men returned to haul Yami away. But even those few moments were enough for Yami.

It was of that he thought of at this moment in time, not the greedy hands groping his backside, as he lay face down on a bed, his hands locked behind his back as always. The sweet embrace with his Aibou, the soft lips, the enchanting eyes a mere inch from his own; they were the ultimate comfort in this room.

His "client", was a short, balding and overweight man in his fifties. Yami did not watch very much television, but he was sure he had seen the man before; he was a politician of some kind. There was certainly none of the obligatory niceties and manners required of a politician on display here; the man was lecherous, crude and perverse. Yami did not put him as quite sadistic like the man who had won his auction, or Blain, but certainly he was not interested in the wellbeing of his victim, he was only interested in getting his fill. For the first time in his life, since neither the auction winner nor Higuchi had done so, Yami was forced to take a full member into his mouth, almost down his throat. While the thought of such an act with Yuugi seemed natural, and even ideal, here, it simply felt wrong. There was something so incredibly humiliating about being forced to do such an act, even if it seemed almost logical when it was done by choice. He suspected the extreme degradation experienced was from the sense of power loss he felt flow through his body during the act, the total lack of control.

Following this, the man had wasted no time in pinning Yami face down once more, and taking him deftly. As before, it hurt terribly, though he did not feel himself bleeding this time, to his surprise. The man was clearly not one for stamina, for he only lasted a few minutes before finishing with a grunt.

Soon after, he found himself returned to their room, now empty. It felt strangely larger with no one else occupying it, cold and sterile. Not that it had been happy before, but now, it felt positively barren. Staring at the white moonlight flowing through the window, it took him a number of minutes before he realised, with a start, that they had not placed the chain back on his wrist. It must have been deliberate, for they had been quite particular to leave him sitting on the mattress. Perhaps it was to see whether he would try anything stupid if given such a chance, or maybe even some ludicrous idea of a reward for a "job well done". Whatever the reason, he was grateful.

Though the thought briefly crossed his mind, he opted to not bother attempting to escape the room. He had only seen the corridor outside the room, he had no real idea where to go if he got out, and the fact that the hall would be full of guards, made the idea positively suicidal. He would need more information, and more preparation, if he wanted to get out in that way.

Just as he banished that foolish idea, the door opened once more, and Malik entered, held by two men flanking him on either side. They deposited him roughly on his mattress to Yami's right, and exited. Malik stared at Yami blankly for a moment, before too realising they had not been chained up. His eyes already beginning to tear up, and his expression wounded, he scrambled over, meeting Yami halfway.

Yami hugged his friend tightly, seeing, with a fresh surge of anger, that there was a fresh bloodstain forming on Malik's clothes, over his backside. The wounds from the previous night must have been all reopened. He felt a new wave of sympathy and pity for the boy clinging to him, who seemed to be doomed to suffer in his life.

They stayed in the same position for several minutes, saying nothing, only hearing their hearts beating. Yami was eager to offer any comfort he could to Malik, not just out of his natural instinct, but also out of guilt, over the fact that he had been unable to help Malik as he was raped mere feet from Yami, the previous night. Chained or not, kick to the face or not, he should have found some way to help him, somehow.

"It was so disgusting..."

Malik had finally spoken, speaking almost directly into Yami's ear. His voice was shaking slightly, a barely surpassed emotion was plinly evident.

"He just kept touching me...all over...I felt so filthy..."

"I know, Malik...they are filthy, that's why it feels that way. Complete filth"

"...I could feel it tearing open again...that was almost worse than the pain...the tearing, I felt like throwing up...it felt so horrible"

Yami closed his eyes, he knew Malik needed to say this out loud, thus he would listen, no matter how horrible it might become.

"But it didn't hurt as much as...as...l-last...last night...l-l-last n-nigh-night..."

Malik began to tremble, and Yami could feel his shoulder slowly getting wet. He could hear the quiet sobs starting, and he moved his hand to pat Malik's back, in an almost desperate attempt to give some, any comfort, to his distraught friend.

Malik's hug tightened, as his cries increased gradually in intensity. Abruptly, he shifted over, and pressed his face into Yami's chest, stilling weeping, though their gravity was falling slightly.

Yami did not know what to say, all he could think of were empty promises of "everything being ok"; these would do nothing to help Malik, they both knew things were not ok, and they would only get worse the longer they remained here. Suddenly, Yami's trail of thought was cut short, as he noticed with a start what Malik was doing.

The boy had slowly slid his face up, over Yami's chest, and now had it pressed into Yami's throat. He moved his face slowly to the side, his soft lips brushing over Yami's skin in a manner that he was in no way prepared for.

"Malik...what are you doing?"

This almost uneasy question seemed to snap Malik back to reality; he hastily withdrew his face from Yami's neck, before pulling one arm back from around Yami, and covering most of his face with his hand, apparently close to crying heavily once more.

"Gods...gods I'm sorry...sorry Yami...I...I don't...I just..."

"Shh, it's ok, it's alright...just relax, Malik, I can't protect you all the time here, even if I try, but right now, you're safe, I can promise you this much, just concentrate on that"

He slid his arm around Malik's shoulders, holding him closely, just as the door opened once more. They both looked up to see Yuugi shoved into the room almost contemptuously, before the door was shut once more, and a loud click told them it had just been locked. He wasted no time waiting, and flew across the room to the two boys.

Yami caught him in a firm, one armed hug, and a chaste kiss on his cheek.

"Aibou..."

The three said nothing more, they simply remained locked in their embrace, finally able to give the comfort they had so recklessly needed.

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**The chapter ended up being shorter than originally anticipated, because a section that was going to be in it, is being moved to later in the story. I think too many viewpoint changes in one changes just make it messy to read.**

**Of course, Mokuba isn't really weak, he's a strong character, but he _is_ weak physically, however, and being only twelve and seperated from his brother, it's going to have a seious effect on him, so I hope it didn't seem OOC or anything that he was breaking down so easily.**

**Do tell me what you think, I appreciate any concrit and feedback, it helps a great deal with writing, and thanks very much for reading.  
**


	10. Chapter Ten

"You really are good for this, kid, I can't believe your daddy never made a fortune off you"

Blain re-buckled his belt and jerked up the zipper on his jeans, a broad smirk across his face. At his feet lay Malik, once more reduced to a sobbing and bleeding mess. He slid a foot under the boy and kicked him over, onto his back, suddenly looking irritated.

"How long are you gonna keep that up? You've gotten it, what, six times this week already? Stop fucking bawling every time, it's starting to piss me off"

He turned and strolled towards the door, his footsteps slightly heavier than needed. He spun back around once more just as he reached the door.

"If you do that next Saturday again, I'll go twice as hard on you. Got it? Screaming's all well and good, but crying like a baby is just fucking annoying"

He reached out for the handle, but halted, something snapping to his attention. He crossed the room once again, and removed the handcuffs and gags from Yami and Yuugi. Neither of them made any sound or movement of their own.

Blain returned to the door, this time opening it and disappearing from view. The sharp snap of a lock rang throughout the room briefly, before it fell into silence.

Saturday. They had been prisoners for twelve days now, nearly two weeks. The situation had deteriorated faster than any of them could have imagined.

Thursday, they had once again been used as entertainment and relief for Higuchi, and Friday, yet more clients had "required their services". It seemed they were being settled into a never-ending cycle, against their will. One day, Higuchi, the next, some rich man with a fetish, the next, back to Higuchi. It was a brutal circle, and with Blain's weekly visits having now begun, it was only getting worse.

The room was nearly pitch black; the moon was hidden behind thick clouds tonight, only adding to the grim atmosphere. Yami simply sat, staring at his feet, his expression blank. He had said nothing, or rather, not attempted to say anything, during Blain's tormenting of Malik, merely shut his eyes, and tried to block out the screams. He had no idea why.

He supposed it must have been his approach to this whole situation finally taking it's toll on him. He had struggled with his captors, mentally and physically, and had endeavoured to do the same for his friends, but nothing had come of it. They, and he, had still been raped repeatedly, still were trapped here, still in chains. And so he had not tried to protest to Blain's despicable assault on Malik, mere feet from him, he'd sat back and let it happen. Perhaps it was his subconscious trying to tell him to give up, to surrender to this fate.

Did this make him as bad as his captors? That after only twelve days, his spirit was breaking? Did it make him a failure as a friend, and partner? He should be fighting still, not conceding defeat. He'd faced great struggles in his life, and for far longer than twelve days, yet nevertheless had come out on top. Why was this so different? Other struggles had had friend's lives at stake, as did this one, and often evenmore on top of that, so what was breaking him so easily?

Maybe it was because he had absolutely nothing this time, nothing to defend his friends with. This was a fully human situation. He was not facing any primordial evil. There were no ancient gods, no magic, no cards, no weapons he had as a starting point for any resistance. There could be no real resistance, not against these captors. They were just men, taking what they would, there was no great agenda to battle against. He was completely helpless, leashed to a wall like a dog, unable to muster any real defence. The only thing he had done was to not scream, which was merely a personal victory, it didn't truly help him or his friends at all. There seemed to be nothing that could.

He looked to his right, where Malik had fallen silent. The Egyptian was on his side, and facing facing the wall, apparently forcing himself not to cry, although he was still shaking slightly, clearly in great pain.

What could he do? Yami was useless, completely useless. There was nothing he could do that would help Malik, the only thing that would help him would be getting out of here, and that obviously wasn't going to happen.

With a unpleasant lurch, Yami felt frustration beginning to build up inside him, as he realised how pathetic he sounded. "Obviously wasn't going to happen"? He felt like slapping himself. Thinking that was as good as giving up on life itself. He could not just relent like this, he could still help, even if it was just helping his friends survive for now. Escape would come in time, he would make sure of that, somehow, but for now, he would help the others cope.

"Malik?"

He jumped, before spinning around to face Yami, looking quite startled. His eyes were bloodshot, with tears still dripping from them. At the sight of Malik's defeated, despondent expression, Yami felt a great stab of guilt. He couldn't believe he'd let himself just sit there and not even try to show Malik he was still fighting, to give him support.

"Come here"

Blain had left Malik unchained, and the boy seemed to suddenly realise this, as he crawled over quickly, reaching Yami in mere seconds. Yami pulled him into a tight hug, before he reached over to pick up the white clothing Blain had ripped off Malik. He wrapped it around the shivering Egyptian, who lay against him with his arms around Yami's waist, and his eyes shut tight. Slipping his own arms around Malik's shoulders, Yami leaned back against the wall, thinking that a night of this would do Malik a lot of good, before he looked to his right. Another unpleasant jolt of guilt rang through his mind, as he watched Yuugi, curled into a ball once again, facing away from them. Thanks to these damn chains, he wouldn't be able to do the same for Yuugi. The idea of him sitting over there on his own was most painful to Yami, but there was nothing he could do. Hopefully, tomorrow night Higuchi's men would allow them all to go without shackles.

Another thought was quietly working at the back of his mind. Blain had said that he would kill them if they told Higuchi what he was doing every time he came to the mansion. Yami did not doubt for a second he would live up to his word if he could, but he couldn't leave Malik enduring this extra punishment, for no reason. However, telling Higuchi without giving Blain a chance, seemed impossible. If he told him when Blain was not here, he wouldn't be caught, and he could sneak back here to make good on his promise. If he told Higuchi when Blain was here, what was to stop Blain barging into the room and shooting the three of them, before anything was done? How was he to stop this without putting Malik and Yuugi in danger? Once again, the situation seemed to have no solution.

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Eleven o clock.

The boss was certainly leaving it late. Blain was getting sick of hanging around the mansion, he wanted to get some sleep already. But that wasn't going to happen until he and Carter had their meeting with Higuchi, and the prick seemed be in no rush to call them to his office.

Blain was pacing around in the ground floor lounge, occasionally taking a swig from a bottle of whiskey he'd helped himself to. He'd already had his fun tonight, fucking the Arab kid; he had nothing to do now, and was bored out of his mind.

It wouldn't even be a long meeting, they had nothing to report to the boss. For whatever reason, they'd been put back on scouting duties as normal, even though the public was still going crazy over their last group abduction. He reckoned it would be pretty damn stupid to grab another group with all the media attention. Guess the boss just couldn't help but try and get even more money in.

"Well?"

Blain turned to find Carter standing in the doorway, looking extremely pleased with himself. He'd been partnered with Carter for many years, and by now, he'd consider him a friend. Or at least, friend in that he worked with Blain well in their job, helped him cover his tracks, and was a good drinking buddy to share his nightly pursuits with, that was about it.

"Same as last time, he squealed like a pig, bawled his eyes out, and was the best fuck in years. At this point, I'm glad he kicked me, gave me a good excuse to be rough with him. He's got no fucking backbone, though, no fight in him at all. His ass makes up for it, mind. Yourself? Which one did you pick again?"

Carter dropped down into one of the armchairs, still with a self-satisfied smirk plastered across his face.

"The Kaiba kid, whatever his name is. I'll only say one thing, to sum him up: tightest one ever. Seriously, it was fucking great. Best screw since highschool, easily. Course, he was screeching the whole way through, but he's only young, so I was expecting it. I might bring earmuffs next time, all the same. One thing, though, the other two in the room are fucking crazy. The big blonde one and the blacked haired one with the weird ponytail. I mean, I put all the usual stuff on them, but it was like I hadn't done it at all. Never seen two people that angry over a bit of fucking before, they must have temper problems or something. I'm going straight back there next week, crazies or not, though, that little kid is too good to pass up"

"Certainly sounds it. We really did hit the jackpot with this lot, eh?"

Suddenly, distant footsteps could be heard echoing throughout the main hall, getting louder. Within a few moments, they reached the lounge, the owner revealed to be one of the Higuchi's thugs, that seemed to infest the mansion during sunlight. He simply made a sweeping gesture with his hand before departing again. Clearly, Higuchi was finally ready for them.

Silently, they left the lounge and moved up the stairs to the second floor. Reaching Higuchi's office, they rapped sharply on the door, and received a muffled "Get in here" in return.

Entering, they found a familiar sight for them: Higuchi hunched over his computer, with no light other than the monitor's blue glow. They shut the door behind them and seated themselves in the chairs in front of his desk.

"Well?"

They briefly glanced at each other, both men unsure of how exactly to question their boss's orders without seeming disrespectful. Higuchi took offense quite easily, and punishments were swift.

"Eh...well, so far, we've got nothing, to be honest. It's not even been a week, we're not gonna find a group that fast. Plus any groups are gonna be on alert thanks to all the news channels going on about the ones upstairs. D'you not want us to move onto another city?"

"No, I don't. There's some good news about the investigation into our group's disappearance. The police department that's running it happens to have a chief who uses our services on a regular basis. I've already spoken to him, and he'll be doing his best to hinder it greatly, from behind the scenes. Thanks to this, the case will blow over in a few months, and the public will just forget about the group. Then we can move freely again. That's why I still want you scouting, I want to have groups ready to take in when the public loses interest in missing boys"

He leaned to the side, and opened a drawer, before withdrawing a thick file. He rifled through it for a moment, then paused, and removed a sheet of paper. He slid it across the desk towards the two men.

"Here's the client's information, I want you two to keep in contact with him, and help each other out. It's extremely important that his work goes off without any trouble, so you're to lend a hand to that on top of your scouting, got that? Copy out all that contact information, and make sure you give me back that sheet before you leave tomorrow, I can't afford to lose a client's details like that."

"Sure thing, boss"

Blain slide the sheet inside his jacket, and waited for Higuchi to continue. He hoped he wouldn't have to actually go and meet this client face to face; he hated cops.

"I think that'll be all, you've got your orders. I'll have the client contact you tomorrow evening, and he'll explain anything he needs done. Dismissed"

Blain and Carter rose, wishing only to get some rest. They quickly crossed the room and exited, leaving Higuchi to his night-time dealings.

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Tomorrow it would be two weeks since they had been taken, yet it already felt like months. Yami felt they were settling into routine already. This Sunday had begun exactly as the other days; they were taken out of the room, fed and watered, then pushed into the bath, before being returned to the room. The whole practice was becoming second nature, and Yami hated it.

Now, it was evening. The light streaming through the window was a deep orange, giving the room a sombre mood. Yami sat, in his all too familiar position, slumped against the wall, the cold chain locked once again to his wrist. He was alone, both Malik and Yuugi had been taken away a short while before. Yuugi had obviously been taken for Higuchi to use, but Yami couldn't say what Malik had been brought out for. The men that took him had seemed slightly different, but he couldn't imagine what else they could be doing with him. Higuchi had said Monday, Wednesday and Friday were his "client" days, not Sunday.

He looked up, out the window, watching the light gradually fade away. He was extremely tired, having only fallen asleep the previous night just as the Sun was beginning to rise. He'd had a mere couple of hours sleep, before waking to find Malik still clinging to him tightly, and Higuchi's men ready to take them out of the room.

Not only was it nearly two weeks since they'd been taken, it was almost a week since he'd seen any of the other, apart from Yuugi and Malik. He had only Higuchi's word that they were fine, and considering what Blain was doing to Malik, he still feared that something similar was happening to them. The complete lack of contact with them was truly infuriating.

The door opened, and Malik was returned, the men dropping him onto his mattress, but not attaching the chain to him.

After they had left, Yami immediately looked inquiringly at Malik, who dropped his eyes to the floor, looking somewhat mortified.

"They were...checking me out. From all the bleeding, they were sort of examining me, like doctors. Guess they must think I bleed easily or something. They were touching me all over"

The matter of fact way in which Malik said this, felt like a swift punch to the gut for Yami. It was bad enough that the cycle of events per day was falling into a routine, he couldn't have Malik thinking of being touched against his will as routine, too.

"Malik? Do you want to come over here?"

He raised his eyes up to meet Yami's, before shaking his head.

"No...it's ok"

A flash of that strange expression Yami had seen glimpses of that whole week appeared briefly, before Malik lay down on his back, with his face pointed toward the ceiling.

Feeling slightly perplexed, Yami rested back against the wall. It was odd, why would Malik refuse it so suddenly, after clutching onto Yami all of the previous night. It had seemed to comfort him immensely, but now he didn't want it? Yami didn't understand at all.

He looked up once more at the window. It was almost dark now, the Sun was vanishing beneath the horizon already. He felt himself growing steadily more tired as he sat there, but he refused sleep, he wanted to be awake when Yuugi returned. His Aibou would need comforting, and it was likely they would forgo the chain, leaving them free to embrace each other.

His Aibou. He could imagine how it might have happened had this ordeal not been thrust upon us, how they would have admitted their feelings. Perhaps while sitting casually in their room, or maybe during a friendly duel at the kitchen table, free to take their time in their confession, to savour the moment. He had dreamed of it being one of the crowning moments of his life, but instead, it was a small light, surrounded by all this anguish. How many more of his and his friend's dreams would die here? Malik had told him about his fantasies during his time as head of the Ghouls, those had been shattered brutally. Who else? Mokuba dreamed of building amusement parks globally with his brother; that would be broken too, as long as they were here. All these lives, ruined, and it wasn't just the eight of them, there were far more.

This cycle of kidnapping groups, "training" them, and renting them out to paying customers had been going on for years. What had become of the previous groups? Had they been used until they had all but broken, or they had gotten too old for the client's tastes? Then what? Had they been killed and thrown in a ditch? Sold to other such corporations? Used as labour?

He would be burning in hell before he saw his Aibou and his friends passed around like pieces of meat. He would kill to prevent that.

Feeling his back beginning to ache from lying against the wall so much, Yami slid forward, ending up lying on his back, while staring up at the ceiling. He was still determined to remain awake for his Aibou's return, but the mere couple of hours of sleep he'd gotten could not be ignored. Perhaps if he just rested for a moment, he could regain some alertness.

He closed his eyes, and his thoughts drifted back to the previous groups that had surely occupied this room. How had these people been abducting so many groups of people for so long, without any suspicion? Just how big was this business? And how many clients did it deal with?

A sudden thought occurred to him, that maybe it had remained hidden all these years thanks to its clientele. After all, he'd recognized the man on Wednesday night, a politician. If that was the sort of people this place was attracting, than it had a great deal of friends in high places. Even if they were to escape somehow, they wouldn't be safe from such an organisation. It needed to be shut down. But how to do such a thing was another question entirely.

Suddenly, there was a soft, almost silent scraping across the floor. Yami thought that it sounded like something was sliding across it slowly. Just as he felt something was very close to him, he smelt something sweet and flowery.

Without warning, a pair of soft lips were pressed against his own, and not very lightly. Yami's eyes shot open, and found that Malik was leaning over him, his own eyes shut.

Yami was frozen in shock, almost unable to comprehend the lips pushed against his. He simply could not believe what was happening. Malik was kissing him. Kissing him.

Malik slowly opened his own eyes, without breaking the kiss, but once he'd seen the look of utter disbelief in Yami's eyes, he hastily removed his lips, and moved his head back. His face was already beginning to display a sense of deep shame, adding further to Yami's confusion.

"Wha...what are you...what are you doing?"

Malik buried his face in his hands, his face turning red, even through his tanned skin.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...I just wanted..."

He trailed off, leaving Yami still sitting in the dark. He had never, in all his pondering, expected something like this to happen.

"Malik, why did you just kiss me?"

Malik let his hands drop from his face, gazing directly into Yami's eyes.

"I just...wanted to...just wanted to"

"You wanted to what? Malik, what is going on?"

"I just wanted to kiss you, I just wanted you to kiss me back...I know it's disgusting to do it to you...but they ruined it all...a-all of it...after all the years I was thinking about it, thinking it would be my reward in the end, to just _be loved_, by someone...they've taken it away...I just wanted you to....to show me it was still there"

"Still there? What do you mean?"

"...Love"

Before Yami could respond, Malik leaned down once again, and kissed Yami briefly, before moving his head further down and kissing Yami's neck. He swung his legs over, so that he was now seated on Yami's hips. His hands immediately began to pull open the front of Yami's clothing.

Yami finally recovered from the sheer shock of the situation, and seized Malik's wrists, holding them up, away from his clothes. Malik lifted his head back up, tears already formed in his violet eyes.

"I'm sorry...I really am, Yami...I just had to...I couldn't stand feeling this way...I'm so sorry"

Yami finally understood what Malik wanted, a lifeline. He should have seen it coming, after Malik's talk of how much excess mental pain his "first time" had given him on top of the physical injuries. He had been waiting for it for so many years, expecting it to be the most wonderful day of his life, as he let go of all his responsibilities and issues, and let someone "love him", as he had said. But now, his first time had been a humiliating rape, by the highest bidder. Not only that, but as though to drive the message of his dreams being destroyed further into him, he had been raped every day after it, twice incredibly brutally.

Yami understood _why_ Malik was attempting this, and why it was important for him, but he couldn't just let him. Malik wanted someone to "love him", to prove it wasn't over for him. He needed that. But how could Yami give that to him? He had his own partner, his own love.

How could he solve this? Malik needed someone to help him, but Yami could not, he had Yuugi already, he couldn't simply betray. Two separate stabs of guilt were piercing Yami's mind now, one for refusing the one thing that could help Malik survive here, and the other for the dreadful thought of betraying his Aibou. What could he do? What!?

Malik leaned down, once more, pressing his lips to Yami's. Yami felt himself react instinctively, and this time, kissed Malik back, but also feeling a deep well of his own shame brewing within him. Malik needed this comfort, but how could he give it to him, without destroying himself in the process?

Abruptly, he realised he had released Malik's arms without even noticing. Malik had wasted no time in pulling the front of his clothing open, and now broke the kiss, shifting down to kiss Yami's chest instead.

Yami had never known how conflicted two feelings could be. He did not love Malik, nor even did he like him in that way, Malik was a friend to him. A close friend, yes, but still only a friend. The only person he had such strong feelings for was his Aibou. Certainly, Malik was attractive, as he had noticed, but Yami had eyes only for Yuugi. Nonetheless, here he was, allowing himself to be kissed by Malik, seated on his hips. What was he supposed to do? He wanted to help Malik, he really did, but this seemed impossible to do without sacrificing his own mind in the process.

Doing the only thing he could do in honour of his Aibou, he grabbed Malik by the shoulders and pushed him up, snapping the boy out of his "work". He looked more upset than ever, tears now dripping down, onto Yami's bare chest. Whatever shame Yami felt in this situation, he knew Malik's must be twice as horrible, at least.

They simply looked at each other, motionless, for a moment, before the loud bang of the door shutting jolted them both back into reality. Malik spun his head around, while Yami raised his so he could see past him.

The door was closed, most likely locked again, and in front of it stood Yuugi, trembling and with a pained expression on his face. It quickly turned to astonishment as he noticed the two of them, in such a compromising position. Malik immediately hauled himself off Yami's pelvis, unceremoniously dropping to the floor beside the mattress.

"Aibou...it's not what it-"

"Yuugi, I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself, it was just me...I'm so sorry"

Yuugi had already looked upset before he had seen them, so it was difficult for Yami to tell if it had upset him further or not. Though it was likely he was, Yuugi's expression hadn't visibly changed.

"Aibou?"

"Yuugi, it was just me, don't..."

Yuugi stood for a moment, before striding purposefully across the room, halting on Yami's left side. He dropped to his knees, and stared into Yami's eyes.

For the second time in five minutes, Yami found himself caught completely off guard, as Yuugi suddenly leaned forward, and kissed Yami himself. Though shocked, he managed to respond, pushing his own lips outward.

It was relatively brief, and Yuugi pulled back, still wearing that distressed expression. Even more unexpectedly, he turned, and leaned over to Malik, before giving him a small kiss on his cheek.

Facing Yami again, he gave a tiny smile, before moving forward, kissing Yami once more. One of his tiny hands reached over to Malik and pulled him over, so that he was yet again pressed against Yami.

Yami was not sure what was going on, but it seemed as though Yuugi both needed comfort himself, and had immediately realized that was what Malik so desperately needed. He could feel Malik once again kissing his chest, at the same time as Yuugi parted his lips, their tongues meeting for the first time.

It was not only for Malik, this need to have someone "love him". In a normal, everyday situation this strange union would never have happened. Yami, and Yuugi would be together, and Malik would be their friend, no more. But this was not a normal situation.

After all the abuse they'd suffered from their captors already, all three needed to prove to themselves and each other that such physical contact was not limited to brutal rape and humiliation. That it could also be love, that it _should_ be love, even if it was a truly unconventional love, brought on by dire circumstances.

Yami had found, or rather been shown, the way to help his companions survive for now, and that was at least something to be grateful for.

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They'd now made their first mistake, and one of the two he needed them to make before he could get out of here.

After twelve days without food, and only one drink of water a day, yesterday, his captors had relented. At the same time as always, when the person with the water would come, they'd brought what seemed to be small loaves of bread, and fed them to him. As degrading as that was, food was food, and now, it seemed they would feed him daily as well as water. While it was only one meal a day, it would be enough, he would have regained his strength within a few days.

However, until they made the second mistake, Kaiba would remain here. He was still handcuffed to a pipe, sitting against the wall, knowing nothing about the situation.

He knew the time for the daily visits was coming up soon, despite his lack of vision, he had always been a meticulous time keeper, and now it was paying off.

Sure enough, within a few minutes, the door banged open, and his designated watchman entered. As he'd guessed, bread was on the menu today as well. Like always, his guest was silent during the task, but something quite unexpected happened immediately after the "meal".

"You'll never guess what, Kaiba. I'm allowed talk to ya now. Dunno why they didn't want me doing it in the first place but whatever"

The voice was nasal, but definitely male, his first piece of information so far.

"Now you're gonna be here for a long while, so you just keep sitting there, doing nothing, and we'll get along just fine, ok?"

To his disgust, he felt a hand slide down his chest, the fingers probing.

"Very, very fine, got me?"

The hand vanished, and the man's footsteps could be heard moving towards the door. However, they halted, before the door had been closed.

"High and mighty Seto Kaiba, cuffed to a pipe, gagged and blindfolded, pretty fucking pathetic if you ask me. My personal toy the way I see it"

There was a short, scratchy laugh, before the footsteps continued, and the door slammed shut once again.

Toy? Well, they'd have to see about that. On the other hand, the man's actions had confirmed a lurking, and very much disturbing fear Kaiba had been plagued with. He was a prisoner here, and his guard had just made it clear that he very much had a sexual interest in him. He could feel a panicky dread building up within him. If his guard was like that, then there was a high percentage chance that whoever might be guarding Mokuba elsewhere would have the same interest. It was essential he got out of here as fast as he could, he needed to get his little brother away from this place, before they got to him.

But they had not made their second mistake yet, and he had no way of knowing when they would, though he was still certain it was going to happen eventually. The first mistake was feeding him, the second would be to take his blindfold off. Once that was done, he would escape, but until then, he could do nothing but wait, and seethe.

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**I did my best to set up the development in Yami, Yuugi and Malik situation in earlier chapters, I hope it didn't seem too jarring to people**.

**Also apologies if the perspective changes were a bit fast, there won't be so many in one chapter in the future, I don't think**.

**College work is stepping up next week, but I'm still hoping for the next chapter to be ready next weekend as always.**

**As always, feel free to tell me what you think feedback is very much appreciated, and thanks for reading.  
**


	11. Chapter Eleven

The kitchen was quiet. The only sound was a soft hissing, accompanied by a steady stream of steam, flowing from the kettle. Sugoroku wasted no time in pouring the scalding water into a waiting pot, before adding teabags. He glanced up at the clock, finding it to be nearly seven o clock, his visitors would be there in a moment. He filled a lone cup with tea, thinking he might as well have one while he waited for them to arrive.

Stirring cold milk in with a spoon, he wondered if he should have made some kind of proper meal for them. He drew out the spoon, and was leaning over to put it in the sink when it slipped from his gnarled fingers. The spoon struck the floor with a sharp, ringing clash that echoed throughout the room. The sound caused to Sugoroku to stop dead in his tracks, his hand still outstretched. It still resonated for a few moments, then...nothing.

Silence.

The clatter had brought Sugoroku fully back to reality. The process of preparation had distracted him for a few minutes, but now, the silence came crashing down on him once more.

The house was completely devoid of sound. Such quietness was wrong, totally wrong.

He bent down and grasped the spoon in his fingers, but as he was about to rise back up, he found himself instead dropping wearily to the side, slumped against the cabinet. Raising a hand to his forehead, he felt a wave of nausea pass over him, a feeling he was now all too used to. He felt sick and weak whenever he would think about how quiet the house now was.

For so many years, the house was always filled with noise and activity. From the shop, from Yuugi and his friend's fooling about, from just life itself within the house, there had always been noise. Now there was none.

Twenty one days. Three full weeks. Three weeks since he'd last seen his grandson. Yuugi had disappeared into thin air, along with his friends, snatched by some sick, twisted person. Constantly, that night would replay itself in his mind, over and over, refusing to leave him in peace, torturing him.

He'd arrived home at nine o clock, expecting to find the house a mess, and just Yuugi and Yami at home. He had only been thinking of the amount of cleaning he'd probably have to do after so many of Yuugi's friends (and apparently, one of Yami's enemies) had spent hours there unsupervised. Instead, he'd found the house completely silent. He'd opened the kitchen door and, to his surprise, received a blast of flickering clear gas, which quickly dissipated. Once it had cleared fully, he'd entered to find Anzu and Shizuka unconscious on the floor. Despite his utter shock at the situation, he had managed to remain calm, and had wasted no time in calling both the police and an ambulance. The two hadn't woken until the next day in the hospital, and were in very poor condition, on account of being left inside the sealed room with the gas still lingering.

Sugoroku had spent the whole night with the police, trying to find out what had happened to Yuugi and the others. The police had concluded quite quickly from the circumstances, and condition of the room, that someone had abducted them. The full brunt of this did not quite hit Sugoroku until the afternoon, after the two girls had awoken. He had been so busy with the police, and trying to contact the girls' parents, that he had not stopped to consider exactly what had happened. That moment, when he realised his grandson was gone, taken from him, possibly never to be seen again, was probably the single worst moment of his long life. Deaths of loved ones over the years had been devastating, but at least they had gone on. Yuugi was gone, but still alive. Any manner of terrible thing could be happening to him, and he would still be gone, unable to be helped.

Gone with him was Yami, whom he'd begun to love as a grandson of his own, and who had just started a new life with them. He and Yuugi's friends were like family to him. Now they were all gone. This exact moment when this realization hit him, felt like a limitless, crushing force dropping on his mind, to the extent that he nearly collapsed right there in the hospital, feeling utterly overcome with despair. Along with the first night, when they'd been taken, this moment kept replaying in his head, and every time it did, he would feel that vast crushing weight once more, breaking him down further and further. They were all gone. Just gone.

The doorbell of the shop rang, snapping Sugoroku from his memory abruptly. He quickly stood back up, and tossed the spoon into the sink before hurrying out, into the shop. He caught sight of his two now familiar visitors through the glass as he crossed the room to open the door.

Rishid Ishtar stood grimly on the pavement, his thick arm around the shoulders of his stepsister Isis. Sugoroku hastened to let them in, out of the cold.

"Sugoroku"

Rishid extended his hand, and Sugoroku took it, immediately feeling a deep chill run through his body, for Rishid's hand was freezing. Isis could only manage a faint smile, looking weak and quite frail, clinging tightly to Rishid's side.

Sugoroku showed them into the kitchen, before seating them at the table and pouring out cups of tea for both of them. They weren't here for anything in particular; they were just here to support Sugoroku and each other.

They'd arrived from Egypt early on Wednesday morning just under three weeks ago, barely 30 hours after the boys had been taken, and Sugoroku had met with them daily since, to search for their missing family. The presence of Seto Kaiba amongst the group had meant the police had launched a large search party for them, but both Sugoroku and the Ishtars felt they could not simply sit around, hoping the police would find something. Even if it was utterly futile, they still had to do something.

Thus they had spent most of their waking hours in the last three weeks combing the city, looking everywhere for some sign of the boys, anything. Anzu and Shizuka had been kept in the hospital, mainly at the police's insistence. They seemed to want to make sure no one other than themselves and the direct families of the boys were allowed to have access to them.

Unfortunately, the two girls' had been unable to help much, other than describing exactly how the attack had happened. The police had constantly been telling Sugoroku that they were making good progress and that they would find them soon, but they'd shown little evidence that they had made any real advancements in the case over the last few weeks.

On top of that, the longer they continued to search blindly for them, the colder the already scarce trail became. They were fast losing any hope of ever finding where the boys had been taken, and already it was taking a permanent toll on them. Sugoroku was old, and this strain was becoming truly unbearable. His body felt completely battered and broken, almost like it had withered away in these last few weeks. He didn't know how much longer his health could hold up, with not only the physical exhaustion from searching the city, but also the constant emotional weight, wearing him down rapidly. What's more, he had not opened the shop once since this whole tragedy had happened. The store was his only livelihood; he had no pension, no backup, no real life savings to call upon. Sooner or later he would run out of money, and then what? He couldn't operate the shop while Yuugi was gone, he had to look for his grandson, but when his money ran out, what would happen?

Looking at the Ishtars, the effect could be seen quite plainly. Though Sugoroku had not known them before this, only Malik, he knew enough to see it was destroying them utterly. Isis, he knew, had been a truly strong woman, the forceful and direct head of the family. Now, she eternally looked on the verge of collapse. It had been against her wishes that Malik came to stay in Domino for the last while, seeking to make amends to Yami, and no doubt she could only now think that she should have put her foot down. She was already visibly beginning to thin out, after mere weeks, her shoulders were slumped in defeat, and she seemed fragile, as though just one more piece of bad news would shatter her completely.

Rishid's change was more directly physical. He was a strong and powerful man, but even he had limits. He had searched the darkest, seediest areas of the city without rest, and not only was he visibly worn out, he had clearly had more than one run in with the unsavoury types from these areas. Scrapes and cuts were openly evident on his weary face and arms.

Sugoroku understood why it was so especially hard for them. They had nearly lost their brother for good mere months prior, but had pulled through. Now, having just gotten their family back together, safe and ready to begin a new life, Malik was gone, snatched away by some fiend. Without him, their hope at any kind of fresh start in life was gone; there would be no peace for them as long as he was missing.

They had been nearly alone in their desperate search. Honda, the only of Yuugi's friends not to be there when they were abducted, had been with them every step of the way, refusing to go to school and instead searching alongside them. But from the other relatives of the boys, very little help was to be found. Jounouchi's father appeared to certainly be upset at his son's abduction, but rather than helping, he'd consented to barricade himself in his apartment with a great deal of alcohol. His mother was staying with Shizuka in the hospital, along with Anzu's family. Neither Ryou nor Otogi seemed had any living parents interested in their sons, not even when they were kidnapped, and of course, the two Kaiba's had no parents. The illustrious Bakura, to Sugoroku's best knowledge, seemed to have no family whatsoever, Yuugi had never quite fully explained where it was he had come from. As for Yuugi's own parents, Sugoroku did not know if they even knew their son was missing yet. He had been unable to contact them, not being very certain where precisely they were at the moment, and cursing his adversity to having much modern technology in the house.

And so, they were alone in their "citizen's approach", a mere four people looking for a group of eight, from six different families, no less.

Every few days, the Ishtars would come here for a couple of hours. In general the three of them would say very little, they simply sat around the kitchen table, listening to the silence of the house.

The silence. The damn silence was the worst part of this whole ordeal for Sugoroku. So often he felt like somehow breaking it, by letting many people into the shop, or playing loud music, or seizing a metal pipe and beating it relentlessly against every pot he had in his cupboards, anything to end this complete absence of sound. But he stopped himself every time, feeling it would be an insult to Yuugi to attempt to recreate the noise his grandson invited in when he was home.

As usual, the three sat there, absently sipping their tea, hearing nothing, but feeling everything. A constant, hollow numbness at the absence of their loved ones, mixed horribly with a sickening, nauseating feeling stemming from unwanted, but unstoppable thoughts of what might be happening to the boys, wherever they might be. And what else could they do? They all knew searching for them would yield nothing, they were doing it out of a frantic need to do something, anything. In the end, they were all just trying to avoid thinking about the terribly inevitable conclusion that everything was pointing to. This vile conclusion that evidence supported, was they were most likely never going to see Yuugi, Malik and the others ever again, and even worse, that they would never know what happened to them.

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Taro Hatori was a fortunate man, indeed it was something he prided himself on. True, he was a long way from blessed in the looks department, being a mere 5'6 and quite overweight, but that wasn't very important in neither his line of work nor his brand of fortune.

He was fifty three as of two months ago, and he was quite pleased with what he'd accomplished in his half a century on this Earth. Police chief of a large department of Domino for a number of years now, most wealthy due to both his pay and his side dealings, and best of all, able to procure just about anything he wanted thanks to his many connections, many of which he had stumbled on by sheer chance. Life had treated him well.

And so, he was currently very content, after all on top of all that, he'd found a truly ideal toy to play with at the latest of Higuchi's auctions. He'd known Higuchi for a long time now, having been frequenting his business for at least a decade, and he'd had many wonderful samples there, but now, he'd found his perfect match. And although for a moment, a few weeks ago, it had looked like this new match was in jeopardy, fate had smiled on him once more.

Not one of Higuchi's groups in the past received much media attention, until this latest one. Through some mix-up, they'd taken Seto Kaiba of Kaiba Corp as one of the group, and this had not only sparked huge media interest, but a full police investigation too. This could have spelled doom for Higuchi's whole business, if not for Hatori's trademark stroke of luck. The police department assigned to the case was his own, meaning the case wouldn't even get off the ground as long as he had a say. Good fortune had struck again.

And now, Hatori found himself sitting in his office, awaiting a call from some of Higuchi's men. They would be helping him to hinder the case to the best of their abilities. Of course, these two being Higuchi's "strike force", the pair that did the scouting, tracking and kidnapping for each group, meant their abilities were considerable.

He had two jobs for them to do, one of which was effectively clean up they ought to have done themselves, and the other, something he'd been working up to for the last couple of weeks, that he expected would stop the investigation dead in it's tracks.

In the meantime, he had very little to do. It was already late, nearly ten o clock, and he wished they'd call soon, he was eager for the day to be over. He was dreading tomorrow, however, and for good reason. Tomorrow was Tuesday, and he knew already it was going to go ridiculously slowly. Wednesday was going to be the highlight of the week, and smiling fate or not, it would take it's time getting there.

He reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a photograph. It had been a special favour from Higuchi to be allowed to take this picture. He'd taken it a week previous, when he'd last been able to go along to one of Higuchi's scheduled "client nights". He suspected he'd be holding onto this photo for many years to come.

In the photo was a bed, the bed from one of the client bedrooms in Higuchi's mansion, to be precise. On it lay a boy. This boy was the same one he'd bid a staggering amount of money on, and won, at Higuchi's auction two weeks prior, and the one he'd be seeing again Wednesday evening.

Stretched out on the bed on his back, naked of course, with his hands twisted underneath him and handcuffed, he looked simply magnificent. He was very thin, with pale skin and a long mane of shockingly white hair. His face was pretty, indeed quite effeminate, with beautiful brown eyes, huge and doe-like. He was even crying, as if just to make the picture that much more perfect.

Remembering the boy's smooth, soft skin, Hatori found himself longing for the time to pass. He desperately wanted to have those huge, terrified and tearful eyes looking up at him as he shoved his cock in the boy's mouth. He craved that wonderful, long screech the boy would let out when Hatori rammed into his little tight entrance. He did love the screams quite particularly. They gave him a very specific kind of pleasure to hear, almost like the boy was saying "job well done!".

Actually, while he'd screwed the boy in the private section for the auction, he'd heard the other members of the group's scream too. Little Mokuba Kaiba certainly had a delicious screech coming from his tiny lungs. Hatori made a mental note to try and book that particular boy for Friday or next Monday, he definitely needed to sample that one. Still, he knew the one he'd be returning to constantly was his doe eyed, white haired friend staring back at him from the photo still clutched in his hand.

The boy seemed to have a twin in the group, also, but he didn't see himself giving that one a go. He seemed far too aggressive and violent. Hatori certainly wouldn't trust putting even a finger in that boy's mouth, let alone his own member. No, he'd stick with the more innocent one, and try out Mokuba Kaiba, and maybe the blonde Arab boy or the tiny one with the multicoloured spiky hair too. They were all his style, in any case, and they weren't exactly going anywhere after all.

At long last, his phone rang, pulling him out of his fantasies. He wrenched it out of his pocket, eager to finish up for the night.

"Hatori speaking"

"You're the police chief?"

"Yes"

"Name's Blain. What do you need done?"

Higuchi's man was clearly not one to beat around the bush, much to Hatori's relief.

"Right, two things, and both must be done tonight, and promptly, understand?"

"Yep"

"First, despite my delays, the teams are preparing to begin searching the building across from the shop you grabbed the boys from. It's my understanding that you two used a room on the fourth floor as your main vantage point?"

"That's right"

"Ok, I want you to go to that room right away, and strip it bare. I've no doubt you left none of your stuff there, but I want you to clear everything else that indicates you were there for a few weeks. Fingerprints are a priority, don't leave any for the team to find. Understood?"

"Sure thing"

"Alright, second, as you know yourself, the gas bomb you use is not exactly commonplace, there are only a few places to get them from. You didn't leave the bomb behind but the team here have still deduced what it was from the description the two girls you left there have said. So now they've narrowed it down to those few places. I've misled them quite a lot over this, until they came up with those places. I want you to go to whichever one it is you get your stuff from, and make very sure they're not going to say anything, or show any evidence that they are the ones. And tonight for both of these tasks, tomorrow is when both operations are starting for the team. Got it?"

"Absolutely"

"Good, that'll be all. Let me know first thing in the morning how both went"

"Will do, you're the boss"

And with a click, he was gone. Glad to be finally free for the night, Hatori stood up, stuffing the phone back into his pocket. Taking a long final glance at the photo of the naked boy before replacing it in his coat pocket, he crossed the room to lock his office and head home.

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It was cold tonight, and even through his body encompassing white robe, Ryou found himself shivering. The pair of arms currently wrapped around his waist felt this, and pulled him in closer to their owner, so that Ryou found himself pressed tightly against Bakura. This closeness both comforted him, and made him quite uneasy.

The men who escorted the two of them here and there had decided to leave them free of chains tonight, and thus they were huddled together on Bakura's mattress. They had found themselves in this position on several occasions over the last two weeks, but Ryou still was slightly uncomfortable to have Bakura hold him like this. Not that he would mention that out loud.

The main reason, truth be told, was that Ryou was in fact, rather frightened of Bakura, at least somewhat.

It was an intensely difficult situation between the two of them. Ryou had, along with Yuugi, vouched for Bakura's return, and he had taken him in, without any hesitation. In return, Bakura had grown extremely attached and affectionate towards Ryou, something he was grateful for, but still unsure about. At this point, he realised he did care deeply for Bakura, and certainly to the extent that he would gladly accept his affection. However, he could not quite let go of a certain amount of fear of what Bakura could do.

He knew it was wrong to have done all this for Bakura, and still be wary of him when his back was turned, but right now, he couldn't help it. For the longest time, Ryou had been alone. His father was the only member of his family still alive, and he played effectively no role in Ryou's life. Thus at sixteen, Ryou was living on his own, in his empty apartment. It was a truly lonely life, no family, no friends, nothing.

Then he went to Domino, and met Yuugi and the others. Having a group of friends for the first time had been strange, but wonderful at the same time. But then, Bakura happened.

He had never looked at the Millennium Ring as anything more than jewellery, even after Bakura had begun emerging to take over his body, and it took a long time for him to realise he had not been as alone as he'd thought. But unlike Yuugi and Yami's relationship, he and Bakura had had effectively no liaison, merely spirit and host, nothing more. There was no interaction, and Ryou had been quite glad for this, for when he finally realised that Bakura was there, quite a while after he had first emerged, he was frightened. Bakura seemed to be nothing less than flat out evil, and Ryou found himself a terrified spectator for the feud between Bakura and Yami. He had been glad when Bakura had lost, freeing him from his constant possession.

But despite it all, when the time came, he had vouched for Bakura, and taken him in. Why, he was not sure, but he simply felt he could help Bakura become better. He knew that with the death of Zorc, any true malice in Bakura was gone, but the former thief still had a violent temper, and he retained a most poor attitude towards people. It was one that was highly dismissive and rude, not at all compatible with someone who needed to reintegrate with society. Ryou wanted to improve this, and it was nice, to not be alone when he went home, and to have something to do. But even if he gained his own affection for this new Bakura, he still felt wary, and uneasy, as though Bakura might suddenly lapse into his old ways and use Ryou as target practice for a knife. It was inevitable that he would have this fear, fundamentally unfounded as it was.

Even here, he was unnerved by Bakura's frightful temper, despite the vastly worse trauma he had suffered here. Bakura constantly fought with the guards who brought them around the place, and Ryou couldn't even imagine what he must be like in the "client nights".

However, Ryou still felt a great deal of comfort from Bakura's tight embrace, almost fully overtaking his innate fear. And in this place, he would take any comfort at all.

These last three weeks had easily been the most horrible of Ryou's life. Not even the deaths of his family members were more awful than this. At least with those, they had just happened, and ended immediately, leaving him with only his mourning. This, on the other hand, was never-ending. He had been touched molested, violated, raped, and so many times that he had lost count. He'd even been forced to lay down on a bed, naked, and have pictures taken of him. The sheer humiliation he would feel when he thought about that day, and really, every other day in this place, was enough to make him regret being alive. If it weren't for Bakura's unique method of comforting him, he expected he wouldn't be alive today. He would have given up on life soon after that first rape, during that disgusting auction.

He had indeed been a virgin when he had been abducted with the others, as had Bakura been of course, and now, his first time was being the prize of some auction winner, raped in a cubicle in a dark room, screaming his lungs out. A far cry from the supposedly special occasion life promised him.

However, on the Saturday after that night, just over a week ago, they had left Bakura and himself out of their chains, as they were at this moment. Bakura had taken the opportunity to say that they were both still virgins, in the real sense of the word. Ryou had not quite realised what Bakura meant, before his companion had kissed him. As Bakura had said, rape was not sex in the traditional "loving" meaning; it was merely an assault, a hate-filled attack. Thus, it had been that night when he'd truly ceased to be a virgin, when Bakura, rather than some faceless man, had sex with him. Not brutally, as he would have expect from someone of Bakura's temperament, but almost gently, softly, and most certainly pleasantly.

It had certainly gone a long way to helping to remove his uneasiness around Bakura, though not fully. He wondered what would have happened had they not been left on their own, if they had a third person in the room, one of the others. He supposed he would still be stuck fully in his irrational fear of Bakura, rather than merely having shades of it as he did now. He ought to be grateful, in the end, because as degrading, painful and scarring as the treatment they were receiving from their captors was, he knew he could survive as long as he had Bakura. He didn't know how the others were dong, but he desperately hoped they could find similarly powerful sources of comfort; he couldn't bear to know that he had caused one of his dear friends to break completely. And he was the cause, he knew it. He was the reason Bakura had been there to have a meeting about, leaving themselves wide open for that trap. If they ever got out of this, all of them, he would spend the rest of his life making amends for each of them. That was a vow, a promise; he would never forgive himself for putting them through this, he could only hope to help them cope.

Suddenly he felt Bakura's hands tighten, and twist around, flipping him over, so that he they faced each other. They merely locked eyes for a moment before Bakura leaned over and caught Ryou in a deep kiss. As he felt the former thief's hands pulling open his clothing, exposing his torso and pelvis, Ryou thought that with Bakura's current course of action, at least he wouldn't be cold anymore.

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**This really is a depressing sort of story isn't it? Well, that's me for you. **

**This chapter is a bit of an oddball, not being centered on the group very much, but since the story is going to begin to shift gears next chapter, and move towards it's climax, I thought I might as well complete the picture of what's happening to everyone at this moment, before that happens. A change of scenery is always nice, after all.**

**Also, I know Hatori's name isn't written correctly, his first name should be written second, but I've not done that with the names so far in this story (I write Seto Kaiba, not Kaiba Seto for instance), so I didn't think it was right to suddenly start now.**

**The perspective changes are good for the story, to keep it fresh, I think, and being that this is actually the first story I've written for fan fiction, it's good practice for the different characters.**

**Violence coming next chapter, just so you're forewarned (not the rape kind either, really physical violence). Feedback is always appreciated, even if it's just a small bit saying if you liked it or not, just so I know I'm not screwing up badly while writing this story. As always, thank you very much for taking the time to read my writings.  
**


	12. Chapter Twelve

He could hear footsteps. They were currently just distant echoes, but he guessed they meant it was coming soon, at long last. He'd received what was as good as a promise earlier that day. He could be grateful it had been delayed this long, at least. He counted fourteen days, two weeks, since it had first been threatened. That made twenty six days in total he'd been sitting here, and now, something was happening, though it was not exactly what he had hoped for.

Seto Kaiba, handcuffed and blindfolded, letting some perverted guard have his way. Quite a pathetic situation for the rich and powerful head of Kaiba Corp. His designated guard, if he had a name, had made advances on Kaiba on the twelfth day he'd spent in this dark room, but for whatever reason, hadn't touched him since. But today, when he'd come at his usual daily time, whenever it might be, to feed and water Kaiba, he'd groped at his torso quite lecherously. This, to Kaiba, confirmed that the footsteps he could vaguely hear now, several hours later, were that of his guard's, ready to come and take what he would of him by force. Disgusting.

These people clearly had no shame, treating prisoners like animals, but this impending abuse was not at the forefront of Kaiba's mind. It would be humiliating, but there was nothing he could do about it in his present state, so he might as well do his best to ignore whatever his guard had in mind. It was the implications from his guard's advances that affected Kaiba, not the approaching act itself. No, the subject Kaiba was thinking of was the same subject he always thought of in this place. Mokuba.

If he had been terrified by what may have happened to Mokuba on his twelfth day here, it was like a mild concern about the weather to what he was feeling now. Twenty six days, almost four weeks, by far the longest he'd ever been separated from his brother. Never in his life had he felt such fear, for quite little actually frightened him in the world. The knowledge of what his brother might be experiencing truly terrified him. When awake, he tried to stop himself imagining exactly what was certainly happening to Mokuba elsewhere in this place, and think of how jubilant his little brother would be when they got out of this prison. However, whenever he fell asleep, he could not stop the dreams of his brother tortured, mutilated, abused and murdered, seeping from his subconscious into stark view. Thus he constantly willed himself to stay alert and awake, fearing these nightmares, and the possible truths they held.

His guard had not taken advantage of him yet, but unfortunately, he knew this could only be a special case for him, and that Mokuba would not be kept safe by this delay. He had long deduced that his own fame was the reason they'd left him here and separated him from the others. Most likely his guard had been told to only do his duties, and not touch Kaiba, by whoever was in charge. But Mokuba...he knew they would do whatever they liked to Mokuba. His guard's overeager interest in Kaiba had long since betrayed this place's nature. Any torture they inflicted on his brother would be, at the bare minimum, sexual in nature. As much as the thought shamed and disgusted him, he had to hope this was all they would do to Mokuba, and not physically torment him as well.

If anything like that happened, it would be his fault, his fault for not doing his duty and protecting his little brother, for not saving him in time. In fact, it was already his fault, for bringing Mokuba along with him that evening, twenty six days ago. Mokuba was already a far better person than himself; he'd known that for a long time. Mokuba was caring, gentle and intelligent, the best the human race could ever produce, and he didn't deserve to be destroyed like this. He deserved to be happy, and Kaiba had failed to provide that for him, failed him utterly.

All of a sudden, he heard a great scraping noise, as the door was opened. He had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed the footsteps growing louder. It quickly shut again with an echoing bang.

"Took me two damn weeks to get my shift partner out there to turn a blind eye, bet you've been just dying of anticipation, eh?"

The feet shuffled slowly across the concrete, drawing closer and closer to Kaiba, who felt himself instinctively attempting to recoil, to no avail.

"I'm gonna be doing this every chance I get, just so you know what to expect"

A short, high laugh erupted from the unseen guard, which ceased as abruptly as it began.

"Bigshot Seto Kaiba, ready to have my cock in his mouth, this really is fucking brilliant. Serves you right for thinking you're so much better than everyone else, lording over us with your money and your company. Fucking insulting us putting your stupid little kid brother second in charge! Well, look at you two now. Your brother's getting fucked like a bitch every night over at the mansion, and you're gonna join him in that nightly bit of fun, starting right now!"

Kaiba felt himself shaking with fury, the hot rage coursing through him. If only he could see, he would teach this bastard to dare talk about Mokuba, to insult him like this. Without warning, the gag in his mouth was ripped out, and a pair of rough, harsh lips pressed hard against his own. They pressed in harder, and harder, before suddenly being jerked away, but the gag did not return. Kaiba spat out to his side, trying to get the horrid taste of smoke and various other toxins out of his mouth.

Out of nowhere, he felt a hand seize him by the throat, and hold his face straight. He could smell the man's foul breath from mere inches away.

"Where should we start, then, Kaiba? Jumped up little shit, it's about time you got taught a few lessons in who's really boss around here"

The breath drew away; the man seemed to have stood up. Much to Kaiba's revulsion, he heard a zipper begin to descend. However, his captor appeared to reconsider, for he stopped abruptly.

"On second thought..."

Kaiba felt the breath return, and expected that the man was once again crouching in front of him.

"First off, I'm gonna tell you exactly what's gonna happen. Just so you know, then you can look forward to it. Right now, my cock's gonna go to the first place it belongs, down your throat. Then these pants you've got are coming off, and I'm gonna fuck you like there's no tomorrow. Got all that? I really hope so, it's gonna be daily from now on. And don't worry about being the only one in the family, by now little Mokuba Kaiba's probably had twenty different cocks down his throat and up his ass. You can think over that while you're working, Kaiba. And one last thing, you're gonna be watching me while you do it"

To Kaiba's shock, he felt the blindfold be lifted off his eyes, and dropped to the floor. He immediately shut his eyes, finding even the tiny amount of light in the room, a single small bulb dangling from the ceiling, a blinding glare to his vision. His captor was laughing once again, still crouching in front of him. He gradually opened his eyes, his vision returning after nearly four weeks in darkness. He could see...

"Seto Kaiba, my own personal bitch, how absolutely fantastic"

Kaiba was still adjusting, still comprehending that he could suddenly see once again, as the guard rose back to his feet. Kaiba looked around wildly, the blur slowly vanishing from his vision. The room looked to be some kind of maintenance space, dark, dank and filled with rusted pipes, shooting in all directions. His guard was finally revealed to be a short, unkempt man of medium build, with a bony, plain face, and a shaved head. He wore a sleeveless t-shirt and faded jeans, and Kaiba could see, as he expected, the outline of keys in the right pocket.

He was smirking down at Kaiba, while beginning to finish unzipping his jeans. At that moment, Kaiba hated this dirty thug more than anything in his entire life. This scum, who'd taunted him with Mokuba, insulting his brother with disgusting insinuations, and was ready to molest Kaiba himself.

Now, for the first time in four weeks, Kaiba spoke.

"You made a mistake"

The guard ceased his movement, and stared down at Kaiba, looking deeply amused.

"Ha, really? What's that then?"

Kaiba began to inconspicuously draw his legs in, even as he stared up rigidly at his captor.

"Well? What's mister billionaire go to say for himself? I didn't bring a condom?"

Kaiba merely continued to stare, not responding.

"Well, what is it? Answer me you little shit!"

"You took off my blindfold"

His legs shot out, smashing into the guard's calves, and sweeping them over to the side, sending the filthy thug crashing loudly to the floor, landing on his side. Kaiba wasted no time, and wrenched his legs out from underneath the thug, pivoted to the side and caught the man's head between his feet, one heel on the side of the chin, the other beneath. Without pausing, for this man deserved no mercy, he kicked his foot out, twisting the thug's neck around in an instant, resulting in a sickening snap that echoed throughout the room. Immediately, his body went limp, and he moved no more.

Kaiba paused, taking deep, rattling breaths, as he gazed, almost fascinated, at the bizarre position of his guard's neck. He had just killed a man. Just like that.

He could thank Gozaburo for the quick killing method, as his years of study had of course contained a small but effective section on such lethal defences. But he had never actually killed someone before, and even if this man deserved it, the sound of his neck breaking was still echoing throughout Kaiba's mind.

With a start, he realised he was wasting time, and that he likely had mere moments to further his escape. This was no moment to feel guilty for giving scum like this what they deserved. The guard had mentioned a "shift partner", and there was a strong chance he had heard the crash, and was coming to investigate. If Kaiba could hear footsteps through the door, someone would certainly someone slamming into the floor.

With no time to lose, he swung his legs around, stopping over the dead guard's left jeans pocket. Trying to hold the leg steady with one foot, he began to kick at the bottom, attempting to force the keys up and out of the pocket. They slowly began to move, bit by bit.

Suddenly Kaiba stopped, listening carefully. Sure enough, he could hear footsteps approaching, and what sounded like a man calling out something. He had to hurry, or he was dead.

He kicked furiously and frantically at the pocket, desperate to get it out in time. The footsteps grew louder and louder, even as the keys barely moved.

"Come on!"

With the next kick, the keys abruptly flew out of the pocket, landing a foot away from the body. Kaiba hastily planted his foot on the keys, before raising himself up off the ground, and shoving the keys along the floor, underneath him. They hit the wall with a sharp crack, and he dropped back down to the ground and seized them in his hands. The footsteps were just about outside the door. He quickly sought out the smallest key, the one that would fit in the handcuffs, and twisted his hands around painfully to fit it into the tiny hole. With a dull click, the handcuffs opened, and dropped off his hands, clattering to the floor.

He had no time to adjust to having his hands free; the door was already beginning to open. Kaiba launched himself up, across the room, just as the door swung inwards. A man not dissimilar to the one lying lifeless on the floor had just entered, clutching a handgun. At the unexpected sight of Seto Kaiba lunging at him, the startled guard raised his weapon, attempting to shoot down his assailant, but failed, as Kaiba managed to grab the man's arm and force it sideways. However, the gun still fired, and a cloud of dust erupted from the floor behind them, even as Kaiba felt a searing pain in his side. Ignoring it, he seized the gun arm with both hands, wrestling wildly for the weapon. The gun went off again, this time hitting the wall to their left, showering them in more dust. Kaiba spun on the spot slightly, managing to just twist the guard's wrist around enough so that he lost his grip on the handle of the gun.

Catching the gun in his fingers, he immediately swung it upwards, slamming the butt of the handle into the man's temple. The thug's eyes went slack, and his struggle weakened. Kaiba raised his hand up and struck his head a second time. This time the guard's legs gave way, and he crumpled to the road, before slumping limply against the doorframe.

Kaiba stumbled backwards, beginning to feel the full effects of the events at last. He head was spinning, his heart was beating uncontrollably, and he was breathing raggedly. He pulled open his coat, to check his side, still burning with pain.

He had gotten lucky, the bullet had just grazed the skin right above his right hip, leaving him with what was effectively a deep gash. He staggered over to the first guard and put the gun into his pocket, before reaching down and tearing his shirt almost in half, to use as a temporary bandage. He quickly pressed it to his side, trying to stop the blood now seeping liberally from the wound. Clutching it carefully to the injury, he crossed the room again, and began to pull the unconscious guard over to where his would be rapist lay. Kaiba searched through both men's pockets, finding nothing of value other than the second guard's own set of keys, which seemed to include a key to some kind of vehicle.

He picked up the discarded handcuffs and locked the living guard to one of the sturdiest looking pipes running along the floor. He moved slowly back across the room, still holding the cloth tightly to his side.

He walked through the open door, turned, and slammed it shut. Cycling through the numerous keys until he found the correct one, he locked it, sealing the still living guard inside completely.

The adrenaline was beginning to lose its effect, and his dizziness stemming from the gunshot wound was disappearing. After the rapid escape from his prison of four weeks, he was now able to think clearly and cohesively again. His first thought, which came to him in the blink of an eye, was-

"MOKUBA! MO-MOKUBA! CAN YOU H-HEAR YOU?"

His voice was weak, and he was short of breath; his injury had taken a larger toll than he had thought. He withdrew the handgun from his coat pocket, and began to wander down the narrow, grey corridor.

"MOKUBA! YUUGI! YAMI! IS ANYBODY HERE?"

He knew it was stupid to shout like this, if there were any other guards, he would attract them right away, but he needed to know where his brother and the others were.

Kaiba wandered through the seemingly endless building, growing increasingly disturbed by the rooms he found. One was empty except for chains lining the walls, while another was simply a huge bath. Finally he found himself in what appeared to be an open warehouse, where a large stage had been erected in the centre. Just what kind of a place was this? And where was Mokuba and the others?

Kaiba recalled that the first guard had mentioned a "mansion" in passing, was that where they were now? They certainly weren't here in any case.

He crept along the corridors near the huge open room, and before long, he opened a door and found himself standing in bright sunshine, apparently at Domino City's wharf, judging from the distant buildings. The salty breeze lapping at him from all directions, he walked slowly around the building, searching carefully. Turning a corner, he stopped dead in his tracks, as he spotted exactly what he had been hoping for. A small van was parked beside the building, and Kaiba knew already his captors are been kind enough to keep the key on them.

He wasted no time in entering, and starting up the engine. He opened the glove compartment, finding a large stack of papers, which he quickly shuffled through, feeling a great sense of relief wash over him as he came to the final page; a map. From the highlighted roads on the page, it seemed to be directions to a sizable building out in the countryside, well past the outskirts of Domino. The building could definitely be called a mansion.

Kaiba smiled grimly, and dropped the gun and map in the passenger seat, before beginning to drive the van away from the building, towards the roads. Logic, and every kind of common sense dictated that he should go to the police, let them know he was alive, and get help from them, but logic and common sense were not on Seto Kaiba's mind right now. The only thing he wanted, was to save Mokuba. He would not delay it for even a second, so he was heading straight to this mansion, to rescue his brother, and the others, and almost more importantly, to kill whoever it was that was behind this whole situation. Revenge for what had happened his brother, himself, and the others was very much at the front of his agenda.

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The room was eerily silent, as it was every night in this place. Mokuba Kaiba was not afraid of the dark, he hadn't been for a number of years now, but there was something truly creepy about this room at night. It might be the way the shadows cast by the wall on the door hid it in darkness completely, looking like anyone could be standing and watching, unseen. Perhaps it was just the memories of what happened here during the days and evenings becoming more vivid in the darkness. He was especially glad to have Jounouchi here right now, the big blonde's tight embrace was strangely reminiscent of his brother's, something he was eternally grateful for. For whatever reason, some nights the men would let one or two of them out of their chains until the morning, and tonight they had left Jounouchi free.

So, much to Mokuba's relief, Jounouchi was asleep, laying alongside him on the mattress, and holding Mokuba close to him, just as Seto did so many nights. So for these few hours, he could be comforted, and forget that where he was. Forget that he was twelve, and spending most of his day being felt up by disgusting old men. Even forget that it was nearly a month since he had last seen his brother, twenty six days.

He had begun to think of himself as a strong person, before all this. Seto had always been telling him that he was a tough, capable boy on his way to independence, and he'd fully believed that. No doubt Seto did too, but now, Mokuba knew it wasn't true. The moment he'd woken up in that first room, just less than four weeks ago, he'd not been thinking of how to help himself get out, he'd immediately panicked, screaming for his Nii-sama. Without Seto, he was lost, and scared, a far cry from independent, to say the least.

He knew most people would, and probably did, call him pathetic over his dependence and downright obsession with his brother. He could not see his relationship with Seto as pathetic, no matter much people might claim he was blindly committed. He loved his Nii-sama more than anything, more than life itself, and he could simply not see any faults with either Seto himself, or his relationship with him. He knew, regardless, that people ridiculed how devoted he was, but he couldn't bring himself to care, he loved his brother, and that was all.

But now, having been separated from him, he could only sit, hoping with every fibre of his being that Seto would walk through that door, and take Mokuba away from this horrible place. He still had no doubt that his relationship with Seto was perfectly healthy, but he did feel ashamed that he could do nothing at all, without his brother there. It was a disservice to him, to just sit around waiting for a rescue. Seto wouldn't sit around, he would force his way out right away, and help everyone else at the same time. He would be such a disappointment to Seto if he found out how helpless Mokuba was without his Nii-sama there with him.

He'd never tried to resist the vile advances from the men here, just lain here and taken it. Even if his tiny body had no real hope of any resistance, the principle would have been there. Without Seto, he'd just given up. Maybe he was pathetic after all.

Suddenly, splitting through all his mundanely grim thoughts, he realised that it was now Saturday. His stomach lurched horribly, as he remembered what awaited him this evening. That bastard, Carter, would be here, abusing him again. It was hard enough having to cope with the minimum of three times a week, and more if Higuchi wished for entertainment, being touched, molested, and degraded. But this wasn't enough punishment for Mokuba, he needed an extra abuser that no one else had. Carter was the worst by far, for he wasn't some middle aged businessman or politician, he was a big, powerful man in his prime. He did not seem to enjoy Mokuba screaming when he was taken, like several of the clients did, but he were merciless, not caring if Mokuba got hurt, only interested in satisfying himself. The two times he had come here had been agony beyond belief, and had left him bleeding heavily for hours. This third time would be just as bad, he knew it.

What was it he had done to deserve such punishment? True he had once been quite a hooligan, but that was only for a short time, and it was so long ago now, why would it come along to haunt him only now, and why so severe? He was only twelve, he hadn't even started puberty yet, in fact, before this he had known almost nothing of sexually based matters (as Seto had not found them suitable things for him to know at his age), but here he was, being abused like this on an almost daily basis. It didn't make sense. He had been sure he'd managed to become a good person, but it seemed not. Why else would he receive extra punishment?

And how long was it he would be punished for? He'd been here nearly a month already, how much longer. Another month? A year? His whole life? If he could just be given a chance, he could change. He didn't know what it was he'd done wrong to deserve this, but he could find out and make up for it, if he could just be let go from this torture.

He wanted the assaults to stop. He wanted his friends to be saved. He wanted to be given a chance to redeem himself for whatever it was he did wrong. Most of all he wanted his Nii-sama. Over dependent or not, obsessed or not, too devoted or not, loving him too much or not, he still wanted Seto here to comfort him, to help him.

Jounouchi's grip around him tightened, almost as though he'd somehow subconsciously heard Mokuba's silent wish for his brother's comfort. Before this, Mokuba had liked Jounouchi very much, he'd considered him a good friend, and a good person. But now, after the lengths he'd gone to keep Mokuba comforted, he considered Jounouchi one of the most selfless and kind-hearted people he'd ever met. If they got out of this, he would put a stop to Seto's constant putting down of him. That was completely wrong, he didn't deserve Seto's insults, now more than ever. Over to Mokuba's left, still chained and also asleep, was Otogi. He hadn't known Otogi before this, but he had done the same as Jounouchi, giving up his own comfort for Mokuba's sake, and he would be forever grateful for it, no matter what happened.

He looked up at the moonlight filled window, wishing he had his locket, to have something familiar, that had comforted him so many times before. For the strangest reason, he felt that Seto was thinking something similar at that moment. He supposed that would be called a brotherly connection.

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**A/N:**

**Now we're really getting somewhere ;). I hope people don't look on Kaiba's actions as being OOC, I always thought he would have it in him to defend himself lethally if needed, not to mention the capabilities. **

**The passage of time in the story will be slowing from now on, since there's going to be a lot happening in the next few chronological days.**

**Feel free to tell me what you think of the stry so far, feedback from the readers is extremely helpful to me while writing, and I'd like to know if anyone has any problems with the direction it's going. Thanks very much for reading.  
**


	13. Chapter Thirteen

"It's alright...it's alright...you're ok now"

It was so pointless to say these words, over and over, knowing all the time they were worthless. Just under twenty six days ago, he had said the same sort of comforting words, and perhaps then he had believed them. Eighteen days ago he'd said them again, and he'd had small doubts. Seven days ago he'd still clung to their generic comfort, all the while losing faith in them rapidly. And now, twenty six days after he'd first used them to comfort a friend, in this place, he was using them again. He did not believe that it was or would be "alright", and he now knew Malik was not "ok", nor would he ever be. They were trapped here now, and that was that.

Yami wondered when exactly he had lost the last of the optimism he once had, and replaced it with resignation. It had certainly not lasted very long, in any case. Twenty six days was less than a month, a fairly pathetically swift decay, indeed.

Nevertheless, despite his disbelief in his own words of comfort, he still whispered them, hoping Malik might have, by some miracle, retained some capacity for hope.

"You're safe, Malik...don't worry"

It was their fourth Saturday since their abduction, and their third in this mansion. Blain had left less than five minutes ago, having taken what he wanted from Malik for the fourth time now. This time he'd slammed him face first against the wall, and kept him there while he brutalized him. A dull bruise was already beginning to show all over Malik's left cheek. Such injuries didn't matter, not one of the men in this placed cared. So long as the injury did not impact their "performances", there was no injury at all, in the view of the guards.

To his inherent disgust, this time of the day, comforting Malik after he'd been raped in front of them once again, was the most they had to look forward to. At this time, there would be no further assaults for twelve hours. In the meantime, they were free to huddle together, trying to escape into dreams. More often than not, they were nightmares, but the possibility of a good dream was all they had to keep going by now.

Yami, Yuugi and Malik lay in a familiar position, grouped together on Yami's mattress, clinging to one another. Yami was holding Malik tightly against him, still whispering his attempts at comfort, whilst receiving similar efforts at comfort himself from Yuugi's arms around his shoulders. It was as good a situation as they could hope for in this place.

Malik was quiet, almost still. Yami could still feel tears dripping from his eyes onto his own skin, but Malik was not sobbing now. He raised his head, his face ending up an inch from Yami's. He leaned further in and lightly pressed his lips to Yami's, before moving back and resting his head on Yami's shoulder once more.

Yami still felt instinct telling him to recoil every time Malik did this. He felt shame at what the three of them had been driven to in the last few weeks, and he suspected both of the others felt the same way. Such mutual closeness and intimacy should be something to be cherished and celebrated, but here, it felt wrong. They had been forced to adapt this "relationship", out of a desperate need for comfort from all the abuse they suffered. It was not the way such a union should come about. Yami thought of Malik only as a friend, and he believed, or perhaps, he hoped, that Malik felt the same way.

Not one of them had ever spoken a word about what exactly there "was" between the three of them. It seemed to go without saying that it was just something they all needed as long as they were imprisoned here. And of course, they weren't going to ever leave this place, so it looked like this would be a permanent arrangement.

The ugly routine of this place had truly set in by now. Every day was going through the motions. Let yourself be lead through hallways calmly, scrub carefully, eat quickly, get on your knees promptly, swallow cleanly. It was hell, but the schedule was setting in so heavily that the motions were quickly becoming desensitized to them. It was a horrible, draining feeling, to know that they were "switching off", letting themselves be subjected to such treatment without the slightest bit of resistance. Adding to the misery was the knowledge that this abuse would go on for as long as they lived, and that it would ultimately become their new lifestyle.

However, burning through all this, still exempt from any kind of routine forming in their minds, was the weekly visits of Blain.

Yami felt a new sting of anger, in spite of the dull, monotonous depression surrounding him. That man was evil, no less. Sadistic, twisted, amoral, he was truly from hell itself. No matter how shielded they might become from the effects of Higuchi and his client's sessions with them, by sheer desensitization, Blain's visits brought every feeling back in full force. The repulsive sense of uselessness both Yami and Yuugi felt, forced to sit there and watch as Malik was abused, the revulsion, the despair, the horrible look of terror in Malik's eyes as Blain approached him, everything remained real, and would always remain real. The fear and disgust was so raw, so penetrating, that they were unable to block anything out. The slamming, the tears, the screams, the sneers, the blood. Blood...

The sight of red snapped Yami from his grim musings. Even after nearly a month, after so many assaults from different men, Blain was still able to tear Malik open. Fresh blood was slightly seeping through Malik's clothing. The dark red stain sent waves of pity washing over Yami, fully breaking through his newly hardened exterior.

Why should Malik be the one to be given an additional punishment, and one far more brutal than any other they received no less? It was truly vile. He had done nothing, nothing to deserve it, nothing to warrant the violent attacks. And the thug had made it clear that he'd been doing to boys here for years, all escaping notice. Blain deserved to die for such atrocities.

But what could he do? If they were to stay here indefinitely, their only chance at survival, even if it was a reprehensible one, was the continued desensitization and "conditioning". This would never happen as long as Blain continued his traumatizing weekly visits. Yami had already run through the possibilities of what could happen if he told Higuchi just what one of his men was doing, and none of them ended non-violently for them. He knew he had to help Malik, but how could he do that? How?

It was all so utterly hopeless, Malik seemed doomed to this fate, and along with him, Yami's conscience .

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Morning.

The warm sunlight filling the room ought to have been a welcome sight, the promise of a bright new day, but here, it was a promise of yet more pain and humiliation. Yami hated it now.

Yuugi and Malik were both draped over him, hindering his breathing quite spectacularly. As both were still asleep, and he had no wish to remove them from their potentially pleasant dreams, he did nothing, and endured the discomfort. No point in shortening their only period of relief.

Today was Sunday, meaning that while there would be no clients this evening, there was a high percentage chance Higuchi would take at least one of them to indulge his desires. He hadn't brought Yami out since Thursday, meaning it was most likely that it'd be his turn today. He didn't really care, it was all the same now, the same routine of sleep, food, bath, waiting, sex, more waiting, then back to sleep again. Motions were predefined, autonomous. It was better that way, as hollow and devoid of life an existence it was, its sensations were at least dulled, not piercing, as full attention would bring.

But, as he'd been deeply troubled over the previous night, in spite of his growing detachment, he still knew that this veneer that had formed for all of them was still being broken through every week. Malik would never be desensitized and immune to Blain's weekly assaults, and this would ultimately destroy him. The knowledge that he alone was being broken down further while everyone else had put up a successful, and unchallenged, wall in their minds, would tear down Malik's psyche, leaving nothing behind. And there was nothing Yami could do to help him, without putting him at a terrible risk.

But what was better, to put Malik's, Yuugi's and his own life at stake, in an attempt to stop Blain's visits, or keep them all safe from any lethal assault, but have Malik break apart slowly? He'd run through the possibilities of what might happen if he informed Higuchi of Blain was, and had been doing for years, under his nose. None of them seemed to end with the three of them safe, most ended with them either dead or in perpetual fear of retribution. That seemed to automatically seal any thought of actually telling him.

He knew he had to do something, but he could not do anything. A truly cruel outcome for all of them.

The door opened abruptly, and in came the usual thugs, signalling the true start of the day. The noise immediately jolted Yuugi and Malik into consciousness, albeit a still muddled and slurred one.

For the first time in several weeks, the thought of just who these men really were entered Yami's mind, as they were taken from the room promptly. He'd wondered how these low level thugs had ended up working in such a place, doing such ultimately despicable jobs. They spent their days hauling around innocent boys, preparing them to be molested by their bosses and "social betters". Just how does someone wind up here? Of course, some of them, just like Blain, were no doubt attracted to their prisoners, or rather, as with Blain, more attracted to the idea of hurting their prisoners, but none of these men were allowed to touch them, so that couldn't be the only reason. A means to an end? Unlikely, there were far less morally bankrupt places to work at instead of this one.

Yami, for now, concluded that he'd most likely never properly find out, which was perhaps a blessing, in that he would not know what exactly caused someone let themselves fall so low. Whatever the true reason, it could not be pleasant.

Throughout all of these restless thoughts, the morning routine continued, unhindered, as clinical and efficient as always. Within an hour they found themselves alone in their room once more, ready to "face the day".

The dangerous dilemma of Malik's weekly visitor had unfortunately smashed its way through Yami's normally solid veneer, and he was not content to sit here as he did usually, blocking out everything he could as the others did. There would be no such peace today for Yami, he could sense it.

Sure enough, after a long period of silence, the door opened once again, and the same thugs removed Yami, alone, from the room.

He didn't care, in fact, he almost was pleased it was his turn, simply because it would spare someone else the experience for one evening.

As he was led down the now familiar corridor, he couldn't believe that the first time he'd gone down here, less than a month ago, he'd been fully alert, searching for "escape routes" of all things, as though he would really find any. Where, before, his eyes darted about, desperately taking in as much information as they could, they now passed over everything slowly, taking in nothing, indeed, almost seeing nothing at all. What might it be in a month's time? A year? Would he even be able to realize when he was conscious by then, after spending so much time in "autopilot"? Would he even be human by then, or just some kind of still breathing husk, cruelly decorated to look like a teenage boy?

They passed the landing overlooking the mansion's main hall, and Yami felt another twinge, this time of something strange, almost like a sort of nostalgia. Was it just a melancholy feeling brought on by the sight of distant roads and forests through the glass, a thought of "freedom"? But what did it really matter? He would remain here no matter what he thought, whatever he remembered, whatever he hoped for. He was trapped, along with everyone else.

Finally, they reached Higuchi's ornate bedroom door. Higuchi, the man he hated more than anyone, with the sole exception of Blain. Despite his desensitization to any of this daily molestation, Yami was still truly _tired_ of being used as a personal toy by Higuchi. Even if it meant promising to willingly stay here, with it's disgusting clientele, he wanted retribution, to pay back this hateful , balding man for all that he'd done, orchestrated, and planned, and remained horribly smug about.

All the anxiety from Malik's situation was truly taking its toll now, Yami's veneer had crumbled completely, for the moment; he was going to feel every little touch this evening.

A few moments later, he found himself face down on Higuchi's bed, his hands handcuffed behind him, listening to the bastard chat away to several of the thugs about something, over by the door somewhere. This was all so utterly unfair. Everything, everything that had happened, none of them had deserved it, and none of them deserved the continuing treatment, and especially no extra treatment from sadistic thugs. Something had to be done.

"How are we today, boy?"

He felt a heavy weight descend onto the bed, by his feet, and soon could feel hands groping at his behind.

"I do love your body, so very much, boy, it might just be my favourite from all of you"

The weight shifted, Higuchi seemed to be leaning over him further.

"I hope you're proud of that, it's quite an achievement, I have the highest of standards of course-"

"Blain, your child snatcher thug, he's been raping Malik, my Egyptian friend, every week since we were brought to this place"

The weight shift ceased immediately.

"What?"

"Every Saturday night, he comes into our room and rapes Malik, and says that he'll kill the three of us if any of us tell you what he's doing. He said he's been doing it to groups you've kept here for years, and you've never noticed anything"

Blood was pounding in Yami's ears, he could feel his heart racing rapidly.

"...I see"

The weight slowly moved back, and lifted off the bed.

"Come here"

Footsteps moved from the door, closer to the bed.

"How many men are in right now?"

"Five, sir"

"Just five? That's unfortunate. I have a very important task for you and the other four. First, you can take this boy back to his room, and then get the rest of the men, then find Blain, and bring him to me. And take away any weapons he might have on him"

"Yes, sir"

Yami felt himself being pulled to the side, off the bed. He dropped onto his feet, and before he was jerked along by the guard, he turned to Higuchi, the sight before him startling him severely.

"Thank you for telling me this information, boy"

Higuchi's voice was stilted, and shaking slightly. His face was oddly calm, but his eyes betrayed his true emotions; they burned and shimmered with a fiery, frenzied rage. They gave his otherwise still face a frightening appearance.

"Go on, hurry up and take him back. Then get me Blain, fast"

Yami had never intended to tell him, he wasn't going to risk their lives, but it had slipped out, somehow. He could feel panic setting in already, as he was steered out the door, into the hall. He could only hope he had done the right thing now, for there was no turning back from this.

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Not a day went by that he didn't wonder whether it would have been better if he was dead. Not only was his presence the reason this had all happened, but his very existence seemed rather pointless and hollow as it was. Was it further punishment for his wrongdoings in life that he was forced through all this? Most likely, but then, why were the rest of them here too? None of them, to his knowledge, had committed many crimes, what could they need punishing for?

Or was it all a part of his own punishment? That not only must he suffer, but everyone around him, must also? That seemed excessive. Certainly, his crimes had been great, and had spanned quite a long time, but most of these people were not even his friends, far from it. Indeed only one could be called any sort of a friend, and that was only out of sheer optimism. He would never understand exactly how fate decided these things.

He could, however unfortunately, understand why the person beside was being punished along with him. They'd gone beyond optimism, and done their best to truly give him life again. They might have fully succeeded, too if this hadn't happened. Maybe that was the point, to lure him into a false sense of security, make him think it was all going to work out, and then rip it all away, and hand him and his partner this instead.

He looked down, brown eyes moving slowly over his partner's sleeping form. White hair, nearly identical to his, the peaceful, even serene face, more content in sleep than he could ever be awake, in this prison. Ryou Bakura, the only person who seemed to be interested in keeping him alive.

His own name...Bakura? That was what they called him, including Ryou. Ryou's own family name, made his first name? He didn't quite understand that, but he did think he might have been called Bakura before, in his earliest, original life. That was unfortunately, a blur.

His name for so long had been Zorc, or Bakura, whichever it was, he wasn't sure anymore. No, he was never Zorc, but Zorc was him? He didn't know, the last three thousand years of being one with Zorc seemed like a dream, a dream that he had woken from, and the memory of which was dissipating fast. It left him feeling so empty, if he was not the Thief King of so many millennia ago, nor was he Zorc, what was he? A void, a lifeless shell, some scattered piece of a being that was dead and buried. A person without any meaning to his existence.

This nihilistic thought came to him daily, whenever he was alone, or the only one awake. It was inevitable, that he would be unable to justify his fragmented survival, the few remaining pieces of whatever "Yami no Bakura" had been, stuck back together and told to make a new life. It left him incomplete, in his mind and in his soul. He still could recall old feelings, but not what had caused them, nor could he feel the passion behind them, just as though they were shadows. The same happened to memories, the ones of the long life he'd had before these last few months, they were feeling more and more like the memories of some other person.

However, as much as he found himself dwelling on his uncertain and disjointed life, there were times when he did feel alive. These nearly always had stemmed directly from Ryou. He'd technically known Ryou for many year now, residing in his Millennium Ring, but that was distorted by two things, the fact that he'd not really interacted with him during his sojourn the Ring, and of course, the fact that the person who'd resided in the Ring was not him. That had been the so called "Yami Bakura", the fragments of whom composed him now. So truly, if he was a "pieced together" new person, then these last few months were his first real interactions with Ryou.

He was a beautiful person, thoughtful, gentle and kind. He'd taken Bakura in without a second thought, even though he could sense Ryou was both uneasy and possibly slightly afraid of him. He didn't blame him; his "previous self" would seem to have been quite a monster. Despite this, he'd taken him in, and seemingly dedicated his time to making sure Bakura adjusted to life in this world, and buried any remnant of the past. Quite selfless, indeed, and it made Bakura proud to be partnered with such a human being.

He guessed Ryou was glad to have him there, despite his obvious wariness. Ryou had been alone for a long time before he met Yuugi and his other friends, and even then, he'd lived alone. Now he had company, even if it was not very warm company. If it helped Ryou, Bakura was glad to be there.

He knew he didn't make it easy, he constantly became irritated with seemingly everything, and was rude to all of Ryou's friends, occasionally even Yuugi, who'd been quite as ready as Ryou to help him. By now, he felt guilty for this, not necessarily out of fondness for the others, for they treated him with the same hostility, but because he was flying in the face of Ryou' attempts to help him adjust. He couldn't help his animosity with the others, he still felt ancient feelings of hatred at the back of his mind, though he could not recall where they came from, but while their fire had long since gone out, they still manifested as bickering and petty squabbles with Ryou and Yuugi's friends.

Still, he didn't really have any force behind them, it felt like he was going through the motions, motions that he had apparently been born with (counting his "resurrection" as a new birth of sorts). In fact, while he always felt alive with Ryou, alongside his continued optimism and enthusiasm, there had been one other occasion that had broken through his brooding thoughts on his existence. Just before this whole situation had happened, when they'd been grouped in Yuugi's home, for a few seconds, it seemed as though their hostilities might actually be solved after all. With a lot of time and effort of course, but solved nonetheless. The thought that he could be living with no enemies, and even perhaps be accepted into a circle of friends, had momentarily given him some optimism of his own, some hope for his own future, that he might actually have a life in this world after all.

Of course, then they'd been abducted, so that hope had been dashed quickly. And now he spent his time in this empty, blank room with Ryou, save for an hour in the morning and in the evenings, for "preparation" and "work", respectively. He didn't much care about being forced to perform all these acts for filthy men, he could block it all out his mind, but Ryou...

He loved Ryou, he was sure of that. He wished only to repay the kindness Ryou had shown him, this second chance he was attempting to give him, and ensure Ryou was happy and content in his own life. He owed him that. Indeed, he felt, for the first time, that there was some meaning in his life, a purpose. This purpose was to reward Ryou for the selflessness and benevolence he'd shown throughout his life, despite all the tragedy and loneliness that had beset him. He deserved a good life, and Bakura now felt it was his purpose to give it to him.

This? This place was hell, the polar opposite of what Ryou deserved. And even if this was extra punishment for what he'd done in his former life, he would not stand for Ryou being forced into being a participant. All for trying to help a lost person find their way? Bullshit.

He couldn't stand for this much longer. They'd been trapped nearly a full month now, at least twenty six days. Every day Ryou was handed away to someone else, taking pieces of him away every time. There would be nothing left of the person he loved eventually, and for what? Nothing, and only because he was sitting here, letting it happen, instead of rescuing him.

He knew of no way that he could get Ryou away from this place, but that gave him no excuse, he should still be trying. If only the group had not been separated, together, they might have some small chance. Surely any animosity would be buried between them all in this situation? Perhaps he could trust in them to help, somehow. He was certain they'd be trying to work on getting out too, and with a great deal of luck, they might be able to create a small opening. If they did, he'd immediately smash it into a much wider one, and push Ryou through it. He'd let the others get out first, too, it was his fault they were here, after all. Once they were out, he'd take revenge for Ryou.

Higuchi, the two that had abducted them, nay, everyone here, they were all guilty, and they deserved retribution. Only then would he think of escaping himself. If necessary, he would die to save Ryou from this. He deserved freedom, and Bakura would pay any price to see him regain it.

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"Blain! Are you here?"

"Yeah, what?"

"Fuck it, Blain, you'd best get out of here now!"

Blain stood up from the bar stool, thoroughly confused. He'd simply been sitting in the lounge, minding his own business, while he waited before his departure back to Domino that night. Now Carter stood before him, looking quite frantic.

"Huh? Why?"

"They squealed, that's why! One of the little shits told the boss you've been screwing the Arab kid, and he his men are looking for you. I just met two of them outside your room, they told me to help them look. The boss is gonna kill you for this, man, you'd best get out of here now, before they find you. They're probably coming here already, they know you come here a lot."

"Ah"

Blain processed this sudden onslaught of information remarkably quickly. He'd always been quite level-headed in such stressful situations, and it was certainly not going away now.

"Well, thanks for the advice, but I'm not leaving right away. I told those bitches I'd kill them if they told, and I'm not going while they're alive"

"Fuck it, forget about that, you don't even have your gun, and you won't have time to get it from the van and come back in here before they realise where you are. Just go, unless you want to get killed"

"No, I don't break a promise, that's a rule, they're getting it for this. I don't need a gun, I've got enough on me to do it, and there can't be any more than four or five guys looking for me, I can dodge them long enough to get up there and back"

Blain would not be swayed, he'd told those three what would happen if they ratted him out, and they wouldn't get away with it. This place was huge, there was more than enough stairwells to sneak up. Of course, going to the top floor ran the risk of running straight into the boss, who'd most certainly shoot him on sight, but this was a matter of principle, he'd take that risk.

"Well, I think you're being stupid, but there's no time for fucking about, if you're gonna do it, you'd best go now, and fast"

"Absolutely. Thanks for the tip-off"

"Goes without saying. Try not to die"

Blain quickly slipped out into a side corridor, heading for one of the lesser used staircases, while reaching into a back pocket, before smirking. That would do as a murder weapon. Higuchi's "guards" were just idiot thugs, he'd have no trouble swerving around them.

Those three were going to regret this dearly. Lucky for them, they wouldn't have long to dwell on it, he'd make sure of that.

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**Sincerest apologies this is a day late, I got totally swept under with work this week, and I wasn't able to finished it on time. Better late than never, I suppose**

**This is certainly a "two parter", since the next chapter well pick up directly where this one left off, and finish out this subplot. **

**I have a few days off this week, so it should be on time as normal.**

**As always, feel free to concrit, it's always helpful, and thanks very much for reading.  
**


	14. Chapter Fourteen

"Mr. Okada, sir, your car is here"

"Good, tell them I'll be down in five minutes"

Okada was old, and it was showed. He was beginning to have trouble walking without the aid of a stout cane, and his breathing now grew short after very little exertion. He was nearly seventy, and he knew he couldn't hold onto this job much longer. It was time to retire.

He sat in his most familiar place, his grand, well-loved office. He probably spent two thirds of every day sitting in here, conducting his business. He would miss it greatly.

The question of his successor was not going to be hard; his aide was most capable, and much younger than he had been when he took up this position. Thoughts of the security of the establishment without him were not high on his list of priorities. No, he was simply concerned with what he would do when he retired. He knew he ought to have stepped down several years ago, when the pressure of the job mounted up, but the idea that he would no longer have access to his own property, that he had spent years acquiring, was reprehensible. The very thought of actually having to pay to spent time with his boys was the biggest reason he'd stayed on so long. Regrettably, he'd delayed as much as he could, but his time was finally up now. He'd need to start preparing things for his retirement within the next month.

In any case, he had places to be, so this would have to wait. Calling his aide, he rose from his seat and seized his cane. As always, his aide was prompt, and at his side in seconds. Dressed smartly in a neat suit, and with his wavy black hair carefully combed, he stood to attention sharply, rather like a soldier reporting for duty. He was young, at least for a man of his position, only thirty five, but nevertheless experienced, intelligent and with a keen sense for business. He was certainly the best man for the job.

"Sir, there's a matter that requires your attention, just before you go, concerning one of our boys"

"Oh?"

"Our occupant in room five has made some interesting requests. He is asking for a job"

"A job?"

Both men had left the office and were now making their way to the main staircase; Okada's car was waiting.

"Yes sir. He's one of the older ones we have, he's been here for five years now, and he's twenty. I've observed some interesting qualities in him over the last few years. He's been less than friendly with the others, in fact he's been almost violent. He would appear to have an ideal personality for our line of work, and he has expressed interest in becoming an employee of yours, even if it's just a guard"

"That is most unusual. Room five...is he the very tall, hard-faced one, with black hair?"

"Yes sir, I've no idea what his name is, he's never said"

Okada could recall the boy now, indeed he certainly had been here for a long time. Most didn't last more than a few years, but he'd been here since he was fifteen, and had seemingly been unfazed. He'd grown up to be surprisingly huge, considering they did not provide their boys with much nutrition.

"I'm not overly fond of him, much too strong and fierce for me. And if he's twenty now, he's really not got much value left as one of my boys. I think his employment would be a good idea, provided you're sure he would be loyal?"

"Most certainly, sir. As I said, he seems to be almost eager to be on the dispatching end in regards to the other boys. He wouldn't think of ruining his chance"

"Very well. Tell him he will be a special case, and will be granted his request"

"Right away, sir"

His aide turned and began to walk back down the hallway, headed for the Rooms. Okada was about to start down the long set of stairs when he remembered an important detail his new employee would need to know, and leaned back around to call to his aide.

"One thing to remember, he is not to ever use his original name, he's to find himself a new one immediately"

"Oh of course, sir, he knows that. He's more than happy to discard his original name, and he's already requested to be called Blain"

"Very well, Blain it is. I want all this sorted by the time I get back, ok, Higuchi?"

"Absolutely, sir"

Okada turned and continued down the stairs. He had no worries about this boy's employment, he knew Higuchi was smart enough to make sure it went smoothly, and he was a good judge of character. If Higuchi thought the boy would make a good, loyal worker, then he would.

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Blain was twenty eight.

He'd been employed as a guard at this place for eight years now, and he had to say, it had failed to get old. Getting to manhandle all the new groups of boys, and watch them cower in front of him, would never lose its charm. They were such weak little shits. He'd been one of them, once, for five years, but he'd risen above it through sheer strength. He'd proved himself as a real man, the only one to ever do so. The rest were pathetic, and deserved all they got.

But while he still enjoyed his guard duties, he was still very eager to hear what this "new job", Higuchi had called him up to his office to discuss, was all about. He knew Higuchi was finally shaking things up, like been planning to do since he became the boss.

Blain's first boss, Okada, had retired about a year after he'd been employed, and Higuchi had stepped up in his place. In the seven years since, he'd been planning an overhaul of the whole business, claiming that it was old-fashioned, inefficient and yielded poor results. Blain supposed he was right, really. Their operation right now (and had done for decades) consisted of them snatching random boys from the street, always homeless ones. It meant their selection was limited, so they couldn't pick and choose which ones to take, even if they weren't all that valuable. Blain was grateful they'd had this system until now, as it had gotten him off the streets, which he'd been on since he was six, and ultimately to this job, but he agreed it was time for a change.

He entered Higuchi's office, and was surprised to find that he was not alone with his boss, but another man sat in one of the chairs facing the desk. Blain vaguely recognised him as another of the guards, but he couldn't recall his name. Higuchi motioned for Blain to sit in the second chair, looking impatient. Blain hid his slight confusion as he sat, thinking it better to remain as outwardly unshakable as he could. In this line of work, it was important to stay strong at all times.

"Right, I don't know whether you two are acquainted with each other, but assuming you're not, Blain, meet Carter, Carter, meet Blain. To get right to the point, you two are being partnered up from now on, and as I said to you both earlier, you're both graduating from guard duty. This system of taking vagrants from the street is wholly inefficient, and it is holding back a huge amount of potential profits. So I'm making you two my personal "hunters". You'll be tracking down groups of boys at a time, observing them for a while, and then taking them all in one swoop. What's more, you won't need to discriminate between statuses, any group is eligible. This means that you will only bring in the best, which will vastly increase our number of clients"

Blain knew such a plan would succeed in bringing in more customers, but it certainly sounded risky. Any group? Homeless boys wouldn't be missed, but others would not be so convenient.

"Isn't this a bit dangerous, boss? I mean, people will notice these groups"

"Maybe they will, but there'll be nothing they can do about it. I've spent the last few years greatly expanding this business' contacts, meaning many of these crimes will go un-investigated, and the ones that are, will not be done very enthusiastically. You'll be starting in two days. I've picked you two because you're the most capable of the men at my disposal. The men I have snatching boys at the moment won't do, they're just simple kidnappers. I want men that know this place and this operation inside and out, and ones I can trust, so I'm not hiring new men for this. You'll be working together indefinitely, so I suggest you get to know each other. That'll be all, dismissed"

The two exited quickly, both still quite surprised by the nature of their new jobs. Blain could not speak for Carter, but he certainly liked the sound of this new occupation.

"So, how'd you wind up in this business?"

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He'd only been at this new job for two months, but already he knew it was infinitely better than guard duty. The previous week, they'd brought in their first group, after a month of observation. The feeling of satisfaction from a plan going off without a hitch was truly something else. Not to mention being allowed to be as rough as he liked in bringing each member of the group into their new home. This was quite a lot of fun already.

They'd been kept at the warehouse at the docks up until today, a new practice Higuchi had implemented. Before each individual had been brought straight to the mansion, but Higuchi wished to only have already well trained groups entering his house. Blain wasn't complaining, he'd been granted to honour of "training" the group, which involved beating them into submission, a favourite pastime of his already.

The group of eight were now occupying their new homes, the newly renovated Rooms One through Three. It was these renovations that interested Blain the most of Higuchi's new developments. The previous system was to keep them individually in one of the five Rooms, but now Higuchi wished to keep them together in twos and threes. He said it would make them last longer, to have company. More importantly, the three Rooms were now completely soundproof.

The noise level from the Rooms had irritated Higuchi quite a lot in his time here. While the Rooms weren't where his clients conducted business, their occupants often needed to be disciplined regularly, and the sound of their screeches was most annoying to Higuchi while he was working. Blain himself liked the sound, he always had, but he'd gladly trade it for the implications of these new soundproof Rooms.

So now, he found himself wandering the third floor of the mansion, not far from the group's new residence. It was past midnight, and the building was completely silent. He'd been walking up and down this corridor for a long time; five years being dragged down it himself, eight years dragging others up and down it. Quite a lot of memories.

He'd been interested in a number of the boys he'd pulled down this corridor, but he'd never been able to do anything about it. He'd needed to get his fixes elsewhere. Now though...

Before he knew it, he'd wound up in front of Room Two, it's key in his hand, being guided towards the lock. He opened the door and slipped in quickly.

Its three occupants were curled up, but still awake, for they immediately looked up at their visitor, startled. The centre one had caught Blain's eye in particular during the weeks of observation. He was young, probably no older than twelve, with dark, wavy hair, and huge blue eyes. He reminded Blain of a boy he used to bully when he'd first been bought in here at fifteen. Thanks to him the boy hadn't lasted much more than a year. Blain was hopeful that having two other males to support him would mean this boy lasted a lot longer.

"If any of you tell a single person outside this room what I'm doing in here, I'll personally kill all three of you, got that?"

Without waiting for a response, he crossed the room, closing in on the terrified boy cowering between the others. He knew they'd "got it"; after all he'd shown them during their first week, they would know better than to cross him. He'd never have to really worry about being found out; no one could actually be stupid enough to risk telling anyone after all.

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"Malik, I've got something to tell you"

Yami had been returned to his room, and the three of them had been separated for the first time in weeks, with all three chained up again. They'd been sitting only a moment before Yami had spoken.

"I can't let you suffer any extra punishment any more, it has to stop"

Malik immediately looked worried, the implications of Yami's words not lost of him.

"You didn't..."

"I had to. I know Blain's made his threats, but we have to take the risk if we're to stop him doing this to you. I told Higuchi, and he's sent his men to get Blain already. It'll be over soon"

Malik sat for moment, frozen in shock, his eyes locked on Yami's, before dropping his face into his hands.

"Gods, what did you do? We're going to die..."

"We're not going to die, Malik, Blain's already finished, he'll be caught off guard when they get to him, and he'll never touch you again. I told you I'd keep you safe, and this is what was necessary"

"Yami, what have you done? You think a couple of guys will stop him? He'll kill us all! I can't believe you'd put us in such danger, I'm not worth that!"

Yami was surprised at Malik's almost hysterical reaction; he'd expected him to be at least pleased. Of course, he was still scared of Blain, so it was natural to think he'd come back to get them. But he'd get better, once Blain was apprehended; Yami would protect him, like he'd promised.

Malik was shaking, his face still buried in his hands. Yami looked around at Yuugi, who looked similarly frightened, his already huge eyes wide in fear.

"Please, both of you, don't be scared. I'm telling you, there's no chance of us getting hurt, he's got no way of knowing that the guards are coming to get him. We're safe, I promise you"

Malik raised his head to stare at Yami, looking utterly panic-stricken.

"Why would you do it? I'm not worth it! So what if he's raping me, that's my problem. I don't want either of you in danger because of me! Why...why would you do it? I can take all the punishment, there was no need to do it!"

"Malik...I had to. I can't have you suffer even more than the rest of us. It's my fault you're even here"

Surprise registered on Malik's face, even through his panic.

"Wha...what do you mean, your fault?"

"You're only here because of me. If I hadn't stayed, you wouldn't have been in Japan, you'd have been at home, with your family, where you should be. It's my doing, and that makes me responsible for your well being. I won't have any harm come to you if it can be avoided. I just want...no, I _need_ to keep you safe. You can understand that, right? I have to"

Malik looked speechless, simply gazing at Yami for several moments.

"...that's why? You think it's your fault? It's not your doing at all. I probably would have ended up coming to Japan even if you hadn't stayed. I did more than enough damage to Yuugi and the others, and I would need to make that up to them too. Even if you'd left, I'd still be here, in fact I'd be even worse, because I wouldn't have had you helping me cope"

"But...but even then, Malik, it's my fault. You were trying to defend me when you kicked Blain that first night, that's what got him interested in you. If I hadn't been there, he'd have left you alone"

"No, he wouldn't have, he didn't really care about that, it was just an excuse, he would have found some other one, and I'd still be here with one less person to help me cope"

"He's right, Yami"

Yami turned to see Yuugi still looking quite frightened, but now with a sad, sympathetic look in his eyes.

"Aibou?"

"It's not your fault, it never was. It's only their fault, these men. None of us is to blame, and especially not you. You've helped the two of us more than you could imagine, I wouldn't have survived without you, and I don't think Malik would have either"

"But...still, I'm supposed to be protecting you, and I couldn't let him hurt Malik again. He would have destroyed you eventually, Malik, he had to be stopped, he had to be"

Malik shook his head, a defiant expression on his face.

"I don't want you two in danger, I don't care what happens to me, I just want you two safe. You shouldn't have told him, Yami, you should have left Blain do what he wants. It was only once a week, I could have survived"

"No Malik, I could have let it happen any more, it was too much. And I've told you, there's no way for him to know, there's no way for him to-"

The door suddenly opened, and was quickly shut again.

"So...which one is the snitch?"

The bottom dropped from Yami's stomach, following by a nearly paralysing shock resonating throughout his body. He could not believe this, how could Blain have known...?

"Well? Which one ratted me out? Quickly!"

"Me"

Without thinking, Yami blurted out the answer, only to find that his confession was contested, as both Yuugi and Malik had replied in exactly the same way.

"All three of you? Right. United as one, are we? Doesn't matter, in any case"

He began to advance, stepping briskly towards the three of them.

"I've been here twenty five years. I've been employed here for twenty years. I've been doing this particular job for twelve years. And I've been doing little bitches like you three for all twelve of those years. Now that's finished, thanks to you. I don't know if I'm making it out of this building alive, maybe, maybe not. But one thing's for sure, either way, you're dead"

He halted, a few feet in front of them, his eyes travelling between the three of them, seemingly looking for a target.

Yami could not recall a moment in his life when he had felt more terrified. His entire body was seized up, almost rigid with fear. He had brought this on his Aibou, and Malik. He'd doomed them....

Blain turned and took a step towards Malik, who had pinned himself against the wall, desperately trying to keep away from the vengeful man bearing down on him.

"NO! Don't hurt him! I'll tell them I lied, that you did nothing, I'll take any punishment of their's, just don't hurt either of them!"

Yami had failed them both. He'd sent them to their deaths with his recklessness.

"Please! Don't hurt-"

Blain turned abruptly and kicked Yami squarely in the chest, sending him flying back, and smashing against the wall.

"Shut the fuck up! You're all dead, so shut up and take it!"

"No...no...it was me who told on you, just hurt me and leave them go..."

Blain moved forward and sent his fist flying directly at Yami's face. Having no time to react, it struck him heavily on his right cheek, snapping his head back and causing him to collapse once again

"Please, he's lying, it wasn't him, it was me, take your anger out on me, and leave, don't hurt them!

Yuugi's pleading had no effect on Blain who turned back towards Malik, looking truly deranged.

"T-They're both lying...they're just trying to help me, it's m-me you want, so do what you like, just leave them out of it. Please!"

Malik, though still clearly terrified, seemed almost resigned to his fate. Malik had been wrong, it was Yami's fault, he knew it was, he had led Malik to this through his own selfish actions.

Blain stepped forwards and wrenched Malik away from the wall, flinging him face down onto the floor. He moved around behind him, and seized him by the hair, jerking him up, onto his knees.

"Shame I don't have my gun, it would have been quick for you three then. So much the better for me, I want to see you die slowly for this, you stupid, stupid fucking little FUCKING BITCH!"

He jammed his hand into his pocket, and pulled out what looked to be a long, thin metal wire.

"NO! NO DON'T HURT HIM! LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

Yami and Yuugi shouted in unison, but Blain paid them no heed, and wrapped the wire around Malik's neck in a loop, and without a second's hesitation, pulled it taut.

"NO!"

Malik's lungs emptied of air immediately, the air rattling through his compressed throat. His eyes bulged, his mouth wide open, desperately trying to inhale, while his fingers scrambled uselessly as the wire, unable to muster the energy to pull it off.

"MALIK!"

Blain's face was contorted in a savage expression of anger and pleasure melded into one, with his teeth clenched so tightly they might shatter, as he pulled the loop tighter and tighter

"PLEASE, STOP! STOP!"

Horrible, frantic rasping could be heard, as Malik tried over and over to draw in air, trying to cling to any bit of life he could. His tanned face was changing colour, to a dark, awful purple.

Yami and Yuugi could do nothing but fight against their chains in a mad frenzy, trying to get closer to Malik, but forced to watch the life draining out of him slowly.

"MALIK...no..."

Malik's hands had begun lose strength, and drop away from his throat, as his whole body started to go limp, even as a last few attempts to draw breath could be hurt.

Suddenly, all the screams, the rasps, everything, was drowned out by a vast roar of sound that ripped through the room like an explosion, and Malik and Yami were abruptly covered in red, as Blain's head disappeared inside a huge spray of scarlet mist. The roar subsided, leaving a moment of silence, before Blain dropped heavily to the ground behind Malik, who drew in a great, rattling breath as the wire loosened. He fell face down, still pulling in vast, shaking breaths.

Yami could not comprehend what had happened, simply staring, dumbfounded, at Malik and Blain as they lay on the floor, only one still breathing. An unimaginable amount of blood had sprayed everywhere from Blain's head, which now had a sizable entrance wound on his forehead, while the entire back of his head had been blown apart, and was still gushing blood onto the floor.

Understanding finally breaking through Yami's shocked exterior, he turned to look at the other side of the room.

Higuchi stood just in front of the open door, a large handgun clutched in his right hand, still pointed at the spot where Blain had been standing. He lowered the gun slowly, staring intently at Blain's body.

"MALIK!"

Yuugi had apparently recovered from the shock of the sudden gunshot, as he was again pulling at the chain, trying to get to Malik. Yami looked over at Higuchi, who understood immediately, and crossed the room towards them. He unlocked both of them from their restraints, and they wasted no time in scrambling over to where Malik lay shaking.

Yami pulled the now loose wire from around Malik's neck, seeing a deep, red line encircling his throat, and both he and Yuugi put their arms underneath Malik and lifted him up, onto his knees. They supported him underneath his arms, as he still seemed to struggle for breath, though his natural tanned colour had now returned to his face.

Higuchi released Malik from his chain, and Yami and Yuugi quickly dragged him away from Blain's bloody, limp body, across the room to Yuugi's mattress, the only one free of bloodstains. Higuchi turned and began to walk back across the room.

Yami could not take this, how could Blain have gotten up here without Higuchi's men noticing? This couldn't be a coincidence.

"What the fuck did you do, you son of a bitch!?"

Higuchi looked around at him indifferently.

"I knew Blain well enough to know he wouldn't leave without honouring his vow to kill you if you told. I also expect his partner told him my men were coming for him. He stole my property, so I was the only one who was going to punish him. As predicted, the fool threw his life away and snuck up here, exactly what I'd been waiting alone for. You made ideal bait"

Bait? He'd used them to lure him up on purpose? He'd throw their lives in jeopardy to settle a score?

"You fucking bastard! You nearly got us killed for that?"

"Of course, I was less concerned with your well being than I was which making sure he got what he deserved for touching my property. That's that. I'll have them clear away the body in a moment. Stay put-"

Without warning, through the open door, came the sounds of gunshots, apparently from downstairs. At least four sounded off, before stopping, leaving another shocked silence in the room.

"What the fuck-"

Higuchi, a look of both rage and disbelief on his face, gave no so much as a glance to the three boys, before rushing out of the room, barely managing to slam the door behind him.

A moment passed in silence, as Yami and Yuugi cradled Malik between them, trying to avoid looking at the bloody mess to their right.

"Malik...I'm so sorry...I was only trying to....fuck it. I'm sorry...I'll never forgive...sorry-"

"Don't be"

Malik' voice was weak, almost a croak, but it was nonetheless firm.

"You only did what you thought was best, and we're ok...we're ok"

"He's right, Yami, don't blame yourself, it's their fault, not ours"

Yuugi couldn't have been more right. Yami could see that fully once again. He'd been telling them during their first few weeks that no one but these men were to blame, but in the last few days, he'd lost sight of that, and blamed himself instead. That would get them nowhere.

Blain was dead, and Malik was safe from his Saturday assaults, but he was still not safe in this place. Higuchi had just played a dangerous game with their lives, just for retribution. None of them were safe here, how long would it be before he did something like that again? How long before it claimed one of them? Or all of them? Their minds were no longer the only thing at stake in this place, their very lives were in danger now.

In fact, they'd been in danger all along, Yami had just failed to realise it, being focused on the physical abuse. There would never be any routine to this place, they couldn't just put up a wall and ignore the exploitation, hoping to live out a life here. They could not stay here.

It was as though a fire had lit in Yami's mind, reawakening his burning desire to see his friends free from this place. And then, it came to him.

"The door..."

"What?"

"He didn't lock the door...Higuchi, he was rushing...he left the door open!"

Yuugi and Malik both looked up, the same realisation coming to them.

"Ok, this is it, we're getting out of here!"

Despite the chance at freedom, Yami could not forget the many ways this could go wrong. He could not put Yuugi and Malik in danger again, they had to be safe.

He rose to his feet, truly determined once again.

"You two stay here, I'm going out there to find the others, and find an escape route safely, then I'll come back, and we're all get out of here. It's the safest way to do"

"Yami, I can't let you-"

"No, it has to be this way, I won't have you endangered because of me again. I'll only be a few minutes, they're busy with whatever is going on downstairs"

Without waiting for any more responses, he quickly crossed the room and seized the doorknob. He turned it, and to his immense relief, the door opened.

Turning back, he stared at Yuugi and Malik, both still on the floor, once again looked frightened, but now for entirely different reasons.

"Don't worry about me, just wait here, I'll be back soon. I love you, Aibou, and I'll get you both out of this, I promise"

And with that, he slipped out of the room, into the hall.

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**I love cliffhangers, don't you? I enjoyed writing this chapter quite alot, flashbacks are fun to explore.**

**I hope no one finds the backstory introduced in this chapter unecessary, I thought it would make Blain's death resonate a bit more if you knew where it was he came from, awhile also showing you just what might to some of the boys if they stay here for an extended length of time.**

**Next chapter will pick up right where this one left off, and will be the start of the story's climax**

**As always, feel free to concrit, and point out any flaws you see in the story. Thanks very much for reading  
**


	15. Chapter Fifteen

What a stupid bastard.

He'd warned him to get out, but upstairs Blain had gone nonetheless. Carter was disappointed, but not surprised, he knew all about Blain's frequent "vendettas". Whenever he had someone in his crosshairs, he wouldn't stop for anything until he'd taken that person out. But now it had probably gotten him killed.

And it was a shame. Not only would he miss Blain, they'd been partners and casual friends for twelve years, but this also meant there would be no way he could keep up his weekly visits. Ever since he and Blain had been appointed as Higuchi's "snatchers", the two had been dividing each group that they'd brought in between them. Now that one of those bitches had ratted out Blain, Higuchi would up the security, and probably suspect Carter himself, making his chances at having fun with any of the boys quite slim from now on.

He knew there wasn't a chance of Blain getting out of there alive, not with his destination being on the same floor as Higuchi, but he really hoped Blain managed to kill whichever of the three that had squealed first. Some justice had to come out of the situation.

He left the lounge, moving across the front hall towards the front door of the mansion. He reasoned he might as well wait in the van while the situation played out. At least there he might be spared hearing any gunshots.

The gravel crunched loudly underneath his boots as he made his way across the front driveway, with the thought that he might even be relieved of his job entirely entering his mind. Would Higuchi trust him at all now, enough to give him a replacement partner and continue working away? Or would he be stuck back at guard duty again, like he'd spent four years doing before his promotion? And he'd really been enjoying messing about with this latest group, too. Fucking snitches.

Reaching the van, he unlocked it and climbed wearily into the driver's seat. He reached under the seat and pulled out his gun. Given the circumstances, he reckoned he might be better off keeping it on him for a while.

A sudden rumble made him start slightly, and he looked out the window at the distant front entrance to the mansion's grounds. The gates had opened, which they only did automatically for vehicles Higuchi owned. Sure enough, he recognized the van driving quite quickly up towards the mansion. However, he knew something was not right.

The van was one of many that Higuchi's other lackeys used to get around, but this one belonged to the pair that were supposed to be down at the warehouse, keeping watch on Seto Kaiba. Under no circumstances would they abandon their post without sending word ahead, and it wasn't like they wouldn't have had time, it was several hours drive at least.

The van flew past Carter's own, and ground to a halt in front of the mansion's double doors. He'd seen the driver, and as brief as the glance had been, he'd recognized him. Security really was a big problem in Higuchi's whole business, it seemed, for Seto Kaiba was now parked in front of Higuchi's house, looking quite murderous.

Carter drew his handgun out of his pocket, keeping a close watch on the van's door. Maybe he'd be able to stay in Higuchi's good books after all.

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A myriad of thoughts were flying through Kaiba's mind. Up until now, he'd had only one single thing on his mind, saving Mokuba. But now, here he sat, in the driver's seat of the stolen van, stopped on the road beside the gates to the mansion. He was certain this was the place, it was the only piece of civilization marked on the map for some distance around, and the only building he'd seen in the last thirty minutes. He was here.

Looking at the impressive four story house, perched at the end of a long lane beyond the gates, surrounded by vibrant gardens, he felt quite uneasy. This was where'd the others had been brought, he was sure of that. But while he had been unable to stop himself imagining what disgusting and vile things they might have done to his brother on the way here, seeing the place in person seemed to make it all go beyond imagination, it seemed real.

He felt his blood slowly beginning to boil, as he glared up at the magnificently maintained mansion. It was a mockery of what they'd done, what these people stood for. They were depraved, cruel creatures, and they ought to live in reflection of that, living in wilderness and filth like the beasts they were. Instead they resided in a grand, opulent manor, as though they were civilised gentlemen. He could nearly feel the house glowering back down at him, ridiculing the situation it's occupants had placed him and his brother in.

He tried to shake away the feeling of the house's scorn, and remember why he was here. This was not the time to get distracted by how unfair the circumstances were. He'd not rested a second before now since his escape, and he couldn't afford to hesitate now. Mokuba was counting on him.

And not just Mokuba, he realised, but everyone. He'd gotten lucky, and had been presented an opportunity to escape, but he doubted any of the others had been given such a chance. They were relying on him. Up until now he hadn't really given much thought to the others, he had been entirely focused on his little brother, but the ominous sight of the manor seemed to throw the entire gravity of the situation upon him. All of them were victims, it didn't matter if he had a dislike for several of them, they still deserved better than this.

They'd all been abducted, imprisoned and abused, and he needed to get them out of this place, all of them. He would never again have a clear conscience until each of them had been freed, and this organization destroyed utterly. He would not let these people ruin their or anyone else's lives, no matter the cost to himself.

With a renewed determination, he started the van up once more, and drove towards the closed gates. His heart was pumping wildly, and he could nearly hear a ringing in his ears, from sheer anticipation. Were the gates locked? If so, were they sufficiently strong as to resist any ramming long enough to alert everyone inside?

The gates answered his question for him as he reached them; they opened automatically for him. There was no time to waste, and he drove quickly down the lane, reaching the house within seconds. He screeched to a halt in front of the entrance, and turned the key in the ignition, ceasing the engine's rumbling.

How was he going to do this? Despite his resolve, and the angry blood rushing through his veins, he knew he couldn't just run in there, firing the gun everywhere. He couldn't waste this chance, this only chance, he had to get them out of there now, without messing up.

He supposed he could attempt to sneak in, and get them out without more than a few noticing. The mansion looked big enough to be able to slip through undetected. Though he didn't know where they were in there, he'd have to look everywhere. He'd not given it enough thought on his way here, he'd been blinded by sheer determination, but now that he was here, he realised this was not going to turn out well. He was one person, with one gun, and no idea what the inside of this place looked like, trying to get eight people out undetected. It would never work.

Regardless, he had to try.

He seized the gun on the seat beside him, and threw open the door. He winced as he got out of the van; his side was still painful, though it had stopped bleeding some time ago. Clutching the gun tightly in his hand, he slowly made his way towards the door. He wished they did not have gravel, he couldn't hear anything over the crunching beneath his feet and the blood pounding in his ears.

The front doors both had small windows, which he gazed through briefly. There seemed to be no one inside the sizable entrance hall. This was a good sign, as long as he could get inside the house without anyone knowing, he might be able to dodge in and out of rooms and up stairs, and avoid anyone inside. He reached down and turned the handle, his silent prayers that the doors were unlocked answered, as the right door swung outwards swiftly. He stepped cautiously inside, feeling sweat beginning to drip down his face. So far so go-

"That's far enough, Kaiba"

His heart nearly stopped, as he felt a cold gun barrel pushed into the back of his head.

"Drop the gun, now"

Having no other choice, he let it fall from his fingers, watching it hit the ground with a heavy thud. How could he have not noticed this man sneaking up behind him, on gravel of all things? He had been so focused on the house in front of him, he hadn't been paying enough attention to noises around him.

"You probably don't remember me, you were a bit busy passing out, but we met before, about a month ago? Little get together in a kitchen? Fun evening, I'm sure you can recall that one"

The mocking tone the man behind him had could not have been more insulting, and infuriating. If it wasn't for the gun at his head, he would have gladly smashed this thug's face in. He was one of the people who had abducted them, it seemed. This person, along with whoever had ordered all this in the first place, were the ones at the top of Kaiba's personal hit list. He didn't just want to get the others out of here; he wanted revenge for what these bastards had done to them. They deserved only the worst punishment, and he would give it to them, regardless of what it would do to his soul. He needed to do it for Mokuba, to avenge what they'd put him through.

"I'm curious, how exactly in fuck's name did you get here? Hmm? I don't think they let you go off with their van somehow"

Kaiba said nothing. He'd already screwed up, and barely a foot through the front door. So much for the great head of Kaiba Corp.

"Well? We're not going anywhere until you tell me how you got out of there. Then we might find you a room upstairs, with your buddies"

His buddies? Then the group were upstairs. He had assumed they'd been somewhere they could be easily kept from escaping, and the best options for that were either a basement, or the top floor. At least now he could rule out a basement, though it appeared his search had been ended prematurely already, so it didn't seem to matter.

He could feel all the pulsing anger and resolve fading away, replaced by a numb sense of disbelief, and a pathetic feeling of worthlessness. He'd had one chance to help the others, and he'd blown it completely, straight away. What kind of a brother was he? What kind of a friend, or a rescuer, rival, whatever he was supposed to be to the others here?

"I'm gonna ask you one more time and then I'm gonna beat an answer out of you. How did you get out of there?"

"I broke the guard's neck, and knocked out the other one. I stole the gun and the van, and followed the map here"

Kaiba's voice was hollow, devoid of any emotion. What was the point of resisting, at this point? He'd lost; he might as well give up, and just hope he'd be allowed to see Mokuba here. He could try to comfort him, at least.

"Huh? You're quite a dangerous one, Kaiba, I think we underestimated you. In any case, you rightly fucked up now, so let's head upstairs without any-"

A sudden bang from above them silenced the man. Though it was muffled, both of them could recognize what it was immediately, a gunshot. It had come from the top floor, judging from the distance, but why would they need to fire a gun? His heart began to pound once again, surely they wouldn't have done anything to the others? They couldn't have-

"Oh don't worry about that, it's just my partner's brains getting sprayed everywhere. Shame, that, but he couldn't help himself"

Couldn't help himself? What did that mean? Did the people in charge just execute one of their own? That thought didn't help his state of mind, confirming these people would use deadly force on individuals who crossed them. Though if that person had been the man's partner, then surely he was also one of the people who had abducted them a month ago? He didn't feel much sympathy for him in that case, that was one person off his hit list.

"He liked to mess about with some of the groups, same as me. He's been screwing the Arab kid in your group every time he's been here. One of your friends ratted on him, so he's just gotten himself killed by the boss"

Arab kid? That was Malik, and it confirmed his worst fears, these bastards had been abusing them sexually. Mokuba...

"Anyway, let's go, move forward"

The gun was removed from his head, but he still felt his trained on his back. Still feeling numb from his failure, and the knowledge that the others had faced the worst kind of abuse, he stepped forward. They moved through the doorway, and across the entrance hallway, towards the huge staircase on the opposite side.

Suddenly, what the man had said registered fully in Kaiba's mind.

"The same as you?"

"What?"

"Mess about with some of the group, the same as you?"

"Ah yeah, of course I was at them too, you think I was going to pass up all those boys over the years? Fuck no. Though I gotta say something about your group"

Something about the others, this man...

"Your little brother was the best fuck I've had in years. That's a compliment, now. Mokuba, right? Ha, he was something else, that's for sure, though I'm thinking I'll gag him if I get a next time, he screeches like a baby every time"

Kaiba stopped walking.

This man...standing just behind him, had done it. He'd taken away Mokuba's innocence, scarred him forever. Sweet, beautiful Mokuba, the single best person Kaiba had, and would ever, know. This scumbag, standing there casually, had raped his brother. Raped him.

The numbness was disappearing, he felt it draining out of him, replaced by an unimaginable anger. This last month had pushed him already, pushed him behind his breaking point, but this...this was it. Such rage as he had never felt before was quickly filling his entire being. This bastard had touched Mokuba, had pinned him down, and defiled him.

"What the fuck are you doing, I said go!"

He'd failed his brother. He was supposed to protect him, keep him safe. Instead his brother was somewhere upstairs, awaiting the next visit from this filth, resigned to a life of abuse. He had failed to protect him, but he felt a new resolve entering him. He had failed to protect Mokuba from this, but he would be damned if he'd let his brother, his wonderful, caring brother, be subjected to another second of this disgusting torture.

"What's the matter with you!? Move it alre-"

He spun around rapidly, his left hand seizing the gun pointed at his upper back, his right clenching into a tight fist, and flying directly into the man's face. Caught by complete surprise, the man stumbled back, his left hand clapped to his nose, while Kaiba twisted the gun around, attempting to get it out of the thug's grip. He brought his fist crashing down on the man's wrist, managing to break his grasp. By now the man had recovered from the punch, and sent his free hand at Kaiba's head, balled into a fist of his own.

Kaiba ducked down, avoiding, the heavy blow, and retaliated with a strike of his own, hitting the man in the side of the head with the now freed gun. The thug staggered back again, stunned from the blow, as Kaiba straightened up and stepped backwards, raising the gun up to chest height. He did not hesitate. This was for Mokuba.

He pulled the trigger, and the thug's chest burst open in a spray of crimson. Kaiba did not stop there. He pulled it again, and again, and again. Four bullets in all tore into the man's torso, following by seemingly endless spurts of blood, pouring down his clothes, beginning to pool on the floor. He swayed on the spot, and stumbled backwards once again, before his feet gave way, and he dropped down to the ground. He lay motionless on his back, feet from Kaiba. He was dead.

Kaiba felt no remorse this time. This man deserved to die. The men here all deserved to die for what they'd done to Mokuba, and the others. And no doubt countless more over the years.

His heart pumping wildly, he turned around. Everyone else in the mansion would be coming soon. He had to be ready.

He had failed them until now, but he wouldn't do it again. He would take revenge, and save them all. He had to, who else would do it?

He flew forwards, running across the hall, and down a side corridor. He had revenge, and justice on his mind, but he might as well try to avoid as many people as he could until the others were safe. After that, these people would pay, he would make sure of that.

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Yami stopped for a moment and listened. It was silent now. He'd heard nothing since he'd left the room. Who had fired those gunshots downstairs? And what's more, why was the house so quiet now?

For a short while, he'd hoped it might be the police, having finally been alerted to this mansion's true purpose. But he knew that couldn't be the case, otherwise there wouldn't silence surrounding him.

He'd been out of the room for no more than five minutes, but already he was nervous that he'd been gone too long, and the men would have returned to the room to find him missing. He had to find a way out, fast, then get back up there and get everyone out. He'd crept down the third floor corridor that he had seen so much of in the last month, and passed the main staircase by. That would be foolishly risky. Instead he'd gone down to the end of the hall, past Higuchi's bedroom, and found a narrow stairwell, seeming to lead to all four floors.

A part of his mind was still saying he should have freed the others, and brought all seven of them with him, but he rantionalised that it would be too risky. This people had shown they would use lethal force, and if a whole group of them were caught sneaking out, one of them could be killed. He had to make sure there was a safe way out for all of them first, he wouldn't allow them to be hurt.

He was now on the first floor, peering down a long hallway not unlike the one two floors above. However, he could see that this hall branched off in several places; clearly the other floors had a more complex design than the top floor. As with the second floor, this one seemed to be deserted. Higuchi had sent five others to look for Blain, that meant there were at least six people to watch out for. It seemed strange that he'd come across no one so far, but he reminded himself that they were probably on the ground floor, dealing with whatever had caused the gun shots.

If they were all on the ground floor, then it was a very bad idea to join them, but he had no choice, he couldn't exactly jump out a window to escape. There had to be a few lesser used back doors in a place like this, if he could find one, they had a chance.

Despite the risk, he moved back inside the stairwell, heading down to the ground floor. The others were counting on him to find a way out, to save them.

Reaching the bottom floor, he peered out of the doorway, seeing what appeared to be another side corridor, lined with doors like all the others. He guessed it was somewhere behind the large main hall the central staircase he'd passed led down to.

Just as he began to creep forward, he heard a sudden flurry of footsteps coming closer from down around a corner. Thinking fast, he dived over and seized the handle of the nearest door, wrenching it open and launching himself inside. The small room seemed to be just for storage, as it was filled with piles of boxes. He slipped behind the nearest stack, just as the footsteps stopped, not far from the room. As he turned around, his heart skipped a beat; in his haste to move into the room and hide himself, he'd not pushed the door behind him with enough force, and it had simply bounced off the frame without latching. It now stood almost a full foot ajar, and though he was concealed behind the boxes, the open door was bound to arouse suspicion if noticed.

Through the opening, he could see a man fumbling with keys, standing in front of a door diagonally across from one Yami was currently hidden in. The man seemed in a great rush, and Yami hoped this would mean his attention stayed focused away from the open door. The thug seemed to find the key he was looking for, and unlocked the door quickly. It opened inwards, and he disappeared in, giving Yami a clear view of what was inside. To his shock, he saw that it contained several racks filled with guns. Mostly handguns, but there were several rifles as well, and he could guess the boxes on the floor contained copious amounts of ammunition.

He was glad Blain must not have had any key to that room, or he, Yuugi and Malik would have been killed for certain.

The man re-emerged from the gun room, now clutching one in his hand, ad turned around to lock the room once again. He ran off, down the corridor, his footsteps fading away. Was there an intruder? Was that who fired the gun several times earlier, and who they were after now? He couldn't imagine many other likely explanations for their behaviour.

He left the box room, thinking he'd better hurry up, there wasn't a big chance this disturbance would last much longer, and Higuchi would then realise he'd left the door open behind him. That was, if he hadn't already, and sent someone up to check.

Shaking the thought away, he focused on what he was supposed to be doing, finding a safe route out of this place. He moved down the corridor, turning a corner to find yet another one. However, this one had windows at the end, and through them he could see the courtyard behind the mansion. He had found the back of the house, now he just needed the door. He approached the window, finding it was locked, and turned to the right, deciding he had no time to waste, and ought to just try every door he could.

The first door seemed to be nothing more than a broom closet of some kind, but the second turned out to be a large utility room. It was filled with various equipment, both for inside and outside the house, meaning...

Holding that thought, he moved across the room, and as he'd suspected, spotted a small door at the far side, nearly hidden by the equipment. It was padlocked, but hanging on a hook beside the door was a small, rusty key. He seized it and opened the lock, before pulling the door open with a crunch.

Fresh air.

For a brief moment he savoured the cool breeze hitting him, the sense of freedom flowing around him. Some part of his instinct told him to run out now, and get away from this place, but he ignored it, and shut the door again. He turned and flew across the room, out back into the narrow hall. The distraction must have been nearly taken care of by Higuchi's men by now, he had to move as quickly as possible.

As he rounded the corner towards the stairwell, he heard another echoing gunshot sound off above him, quickly following by two more. He couldn't stop for anything, even death, so he did not hesitate for a moment in running up the stairs, towards the third floor.

He could hear other footsteps pounding through the corridors, as he moved past the floors. It seemed they'd found the intruder, and were chasing them. He hoped they could hold out long enough. Jounouchi, Mokuba, Otogi, Ryou and Bakura were still locked their rooms, he didn't know how long it would take him to get them out, every second counted now.

He rounded the last turn in the stairs, and reached the top floor. But as he burst out into the hallway, he screeched to a halt, unable to quite believe what he saw.

"Kaiba?"

"Yami?"

Sure enough, Seto Kaiba stood before him, having likewise ground to a halt. He was emaciated, wild-eyed, and with several light splatters of blood on his shirt. He was also holding a gun in his hand, which looked like it was empty.

"How-"

"Where are the others!? We have to move fast, they're right be-"

A shot rang out, and a round ripped through Kaiba's right thigh, eliciting a spurt of blood, and a screech of pain. He collapsed to the ground, revealing Higuchi and one other guard behind him, standing some distance past Kaiba. Higuchi lowered his gun (it looked to be the smaller gun Yami had seen the thug fetch earlier, not the huge one he'd killed Blain with), and looked in astonishment at Yami. He seemed to catch on quickly, and spun around to the other guard.

"I left the fucking door open, go check on the others, quickly!"

He turned back around, and nodded in Yami's direction. Yami was slightly confused by this for an instant, but he realised the nod was to someone behind him. Before he could turn, something heavy crashed into the back of his head, sending him face down on the floor. His vision blurred, and he quickly sank into darkness, unable to resist.

He'd failed.

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**Sorry for the late update, I was too busy to put it up in the morning as normal.**

**I hope that ending didn't seem too abrupt, that was the sort of effect I was going for, that the reader would be caught off guard along with Yami before blacking out, but apologies if you found it jarring.  
**

**As you can see, we're really coming to the conclusion now, there's only a few chapters left to do. Next one is likely to catch up with the outside world again, though I'm not sure whether that will be the only thing, just yet.**

**I've more free time this week, so expect next chapter to be on time.**

**As always, feel free to concrit and tell me how you're finding the story's direction, and thanks for reading.  
**


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